


When the morning comes

by PeggyCarters



Category: Shefani, The Voice (US) RPF
Genre: F/M, Lets see where this goes, slightly AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:55:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22439860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeggyCarters/pseuds/PeggyCarters
Summary: A rare meeting at the Grammy's post-ceremony party might just be what they need to get through the night and, maybe, the morning.Slightly-AU.
Relationships: Blake Shelton/Gwen Stefani
Comments: 106
Kudos: 184





	1. Pretend For Me

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no see. 
> 
> I started this yesterday way before the Grammy's started. It had been a while since I felt this inspired, so I wrote the whole thing down pretty fast. I hope you all like it.
> 
> This goes to my fellow homies: Zoë, Sanne, Nore, Val and Marwa. I love being sleep deprived and crazy with you guys!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, it's January 2016.

He has been trying to get away from her all evening. When he walked into the party room after the award ceremony she had immediately spotted him and she had almost run to him. Not finding a way out, he had been nodding and letting out small words and short responses for the last hour as she spoke and spoke, slowly moving closer and closer every time, until his back crashed against the nearest wall, making it difficult for him to leave. 

He needed a way out asap and the excuse of going to the toilet wouldn't work. The party had just started and he hadn't even had time to go to the bar to get himself a drink before, Daniela, a new country music sensation, literally stopped him and was holding him hostage in a one-sided conversation. 

He feels a bit bad for cutting her off but he really can't stand this conversation or the way she is not-so-timidly touching his arm anymore. "Hey, Daniela, I'm sorry but I really need to go find Luke. We have this ritual at award shows in which we get the first drink of the night together. See you around, yeah?"

He doesn't wait for her reply as he walks away knowing fully well that his buddy Luke Bryan is not at the Grammy's this year. 

He didn't want to be here in the first place. If it weren't for the presenter slot his team had gotten him, he would be in his ranch in Oklahoma watching a movie or on his way to bed with one or two drinks in his system. But he is here, and as much as he would have wanted to leave after his job was done, he is also kind of looking forward to spend the night with music's biggest names. 

"Hey, dude." He can recognise his voice anywhere. 

"Dickhead, good to see you." Blake replies as he takes Adam in his arms. "Missed you buddy." 

"How are you doing? That woman was hot and very into you, by the way."

"Daniela? I could be her father." 

"Oh, come on!" Adam chuckles and then turns to ask for two drinks. 

"She is... something. Wouldn't let me go. Same happened about two weeks ago in Nashville." 

"Maybe you shouldn't be so mean and give the poor girl a chance."

"I'm not-"

Adam cuts him off before he can continue, "I'm just saying, you're single now, been single for about six months. I just want you to be happy, dude."

"I definitely not need a date for that, I have you." He pokes his arm and then reaches out for the two drinks that the barman had just finished preparing for them. 

"Well, _me_ has an actual date," the Maroon 5 vocalist shows Blake the ring on his finger, "and I'd very much go see where she is at. Might even dance a bit." 

Blake smiles widely at his friend, "You do that." 

He is alone again. _Great_. 

He finds Pharrell and Christina and spends some time talking to both about the new season 10 of The Voice starting soon. After Shakira's decision to quit after season 9, Christina had agreed to come back for at least one season. Blake was happy to have her back on the show, he liked turning to his right and see a familiar face. Even if their relationship was a bit siblings-like, he truly cherished her support and friendship over the years. 

Both his fellow coaches leave to engage in other conversations leaving Blake alone for a few seconds. He scans the room and sees some people that he doesn't quite recognise at the far back bar section, which is a bit hidden from the party. His eyes shift a little to the left, where the toilets are, the same moment and he meets Daniela's gaze as she steps out of the ladies toilet. She smiles at him and then starts to make her way to him. Blake looks back at the bar at the end of the room and decides to run that direction, hoping he will camouflage himself in between tuxedos and dresses as he crosses the dancing zone. 

When he gets to the bar there's two guys that he doesn't recognise and a blonde woman who is leaning forward on the counter, watching as a bartender, a bit more on the right, fixes her a drink. Blake wouldn't normally do this, but he would rather walk to a complete stranger than have another one-sided and awkward conversation with Daniela. 

He walks closer to the woman who has her back to him, "I'm sorry about this but could you pretend we know each other." He says almost too fast for the woman to catch up on his babbling. From the corner of his eye he can see that Daniela is getting closer and closer, at the same time that he starts to feel the other woman turn to him. "Again, I'm really sor-," 

_Wow, okay._

He doesn't have time to process that he just basically tapped on Gwen Stefani's back, but suddenly she is gracefully smiling at him as she closes the distance hugging him close. 

"Is this good enough?" She whispers close to his ear making goosebumps appear on his skin. He figures he should hug her back to keep the little scene rolling so he places one hand on her higher back finding her skin. _Dammit_.

"Y-yeah." 

She pulls back and takes a few seconds to look at him while she continues to pull off a very convincing happy face. "You know, I've done a bit of acting so if you need to keep this going, let me know." 

He nods when words fail him. 

Gwen _freaking_ Stefani. 

"Thank you for- uhm, this." He says almost as a whisper, "I've never- this." He clears his throat, "I never do this." 

"You mean this is not your smooth way to get a girl to talk to you. Seems to be working just fine." He laughs at her teasing as his head tilts backwards a little bit. From the corner of his eye he can see that Daniela is still making her way up to him across the sea of people on the dance floor. 

He turns his head back to Gwen as his dimples appear on his cheeks. "You caught me." He shrugs as a little chuckle escapes his lips. 

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you running from?" She says before taking a sip of her drink. 

"Country music's newest star. She had me almost pressed up against the wall befor-" Realising that that didn't quite come out like he wanted to, he stops talking when Gwen's eyes grow in confusion. "No, god no! I mean that- She just talks a lot and had me held hostage for a one-sided conversation as I had just walked into the room. I guess she likes me, I don't know." He runs a hand through his hair huffing. 

"I'm guessing you don't like her back?"

"I could be her father." 

"What?" She asks a bit confused at the, probably mid-forties, guy standing before her. 

"She's 20 something. I don't know or care, to be honest." 

She presses her lips together thinking that it's weird because, generally speaking, guys love it when younger girls chase them. 

"Blake,"

_Oh god, no._

He forces a smile on his face as he turns to find Daniela weirdly looking between him and Gwen. 

"Hey Dan, listen I-" 

"Oh my god, you're Gwen Stefani!" She nearly screams making Blake's head turn to the No Doubt front woman. He mouths a _sorry_ and then turns back to his fellow country artist. "You're really her wow, can I get a picture with you?" 

"I don't know if-" Blake begins but Gwen politely cuts him off. 

"Of course." 

"Blake, you too" Daniela says before she calls the bartender and hands him her phone. 

He finds it weird when Daniela basically presses herself against his side and seems to forget Gwen is standing to her left and how she was basically fangirling over her a minute ago. 

"Thank you, oh my god, best day ever!" She nearly screams again as she takes a look at the few photos on her phone. "You're a big inspiration of mine. Blake a bit more, cos you know country," She duhs, "but Hollaback Girl, Cool, Don't Speak, wow! Totally defined my childhood." 

Gwen softly nods as it hits her that this girl is indeed young, probably half her age. "Thanks a lot." 

The younger woman turns her head to Blake, "Want to dance a bit? Maybe grab a drink with me?"

"Gwen and I were actually going to step out for a bit, you know catch up and stuff." 

Daniela seems disappointed at the response, "I didn't know you guys knew each other." 

"Oh sure we do, Blake's been a good friend for a while." Gwen replies placing a hand on his arm. 

Hearing her say his name wakes something inside of him. "Let's go outside?" He says taking her drink in his hand. 

He opens the door for her to step outside on the terrace first, "I didn't know you knew who I was." He says when they finally stop walking, standing on one side of the chill out section. 

"I'm sorry, I don't. But she did say your name was Blake." 

"I wasn't expecting someone like you to know who I am." His dimples carve in his skin again, "sorry for not introducing myself earlier, my name is Blake Shelton and as she said, I'm a country singer." 

"Nice to formally meet you Blake. I'm-" 

"I don't think you're one of those people that need an introduction." 

"Really?" She smiles teasingly. 

"Gwen Stefani." He says syllable by syllable making her smile. He pulls his hand out for her to shake, "thanks for saving me. It's a pleasure, Gwen. Hollaback Girl, Don't Speak and Cool also defined my childhood." 

She bursts out laughing then and he can't help but feel totally mesmerized by the way her eyes close and covers her mouth trying no mumble the sounds. "I basically stole you from the party, I'm sure you have people to get back to." He says quietly as he looks out to the night LA sky. 

"You saved me a bit as well, you know? I was thinking about leaving until you came up to me." 

"I didn't know it was you. Looked around and you were maybe the only person in the room standing alone-"

"That makes me sound so sociable." She chuckles leaning her back against the bar that marks the edge or the terrace. Her arm brushing his clothed one as he leans back the same way. 

"I didn't mean it in a bad way " 

"I know, Blake. I'm just teasing you." 

"Keep doing it, I'll catch up and tease you back." 

They stay quiet for a few seconds after that but it doesn't get awkward, on the contrary, it's almost comfortable. 

"I don't see someone like you ever listening to my music." She breaks the silence leaning to her side so that she can fix her eyes on his attractive side profile. He is definitely a handsome guy, weirdly dressed in jeans, vest and tux jacket, but it works and looks really good on him.

"Can't say I have heard a lot of songs, but one of my best friends is a huge No Doubt fan. And honestly, I might come from the middle of nowhere, but everyone knows the banana song."

"Banana, huh?" She bites the inside of her cheek. 

"Don't Speak too. I covered it no long ago." 

"You did?" She asks almost surprised. "I need to see that one day." 

"For all you know, I could be a horrible singer." It's his turn to lean on his side as he fixes his eyes on hers. 

"You have a star presence. There's no way you don't have a beautiful voice. I can almost hear it inside my head. Low register but strong sound, I think you might have a great vocal range but don't feel too confident about it."

He fidgets with the half full glass on his hands as he takes a moment to look down at his boots. 

"Sorry, I-" He hears her say.

"No, don't. You're not wrong." He tilts his head up, "Thank you." 

An hour goes by as they exchange stories about where they come from and find themselves finding a mutual interest for 80s music. The conversation could have continued but Adam appears breaking the moment. 

"Hi, Adam." Gwen says before Blake can formally introduce them. 

"You know each other?" The country star asks. 

"Well, LA is big but you get to meet people here and there. I'm almost confused to see you know her." He tells Blake. "You never mentioned it." 

Now it's Gwen's chance to asks, "You know each other?" 

"Me and the idiot here?" Adam teases Blake, "he sits two chairs down from me on The Voice." 

Blake smiles down at her confused face, "Adam is the No Doubt fan friend I mentioned before. And yes, we're both coaches on The Voice." 

This is a twist she wasn't expecting. Adam leaves soon, after fanboying a little bit over Gwen and telling Blake that he and Behati will step out and go home. 

"See ya around brother." Blake hugs him goodbye, "I'll be back in this hell of a city soon." He jokes as Adam hits his arms amicably. 

"I have never watched The Voice but I know what it is. My sister-in-law really likes it, and now that I recall, she mentions you every now and then." 

"I like her already." 

"You don't like me cos I don't know who you are?" She tries to keep a straight face but a small chuckle escapes when she sees panic in his eyes. 

"Teasing again, I see." 

When a waitress walks by them with a tray of used glasses, he asks her for two drinks after making sure that Gwen is up for another one. Barely three minutes later, as they discuss which is their favourite Fleetwood Mac song, the waitress is back with their order. 

“You’re a box of surprises.” He says clinking his glass to hers. 

“Because I like Fleetwood Mac?”

“No, in general. I don’t know, it’s easy to talk to you.”

She draws a soft smile for him and when she’s about to reply, a male voice breaks their small moment. 

“Gwen, oh my god! They’ve told me you were here. I need you to meet this producer.” Blake doesn’t recognise the man who’s basically stealing her away from him. She turns her head to the voice and immediately hugs the man close. 

“Sam, I was not expecting you here. What’s up?” 

“This dude is massive Gwen and he _loves_ you. I think he might be on board for the new album.” 

“I just wrote a song, Sam, no one said anything about an album.” Blake watches the exchange quietly and almost feeling like he’s stepping in a territory that he should be in. “This is Blake, by the way.” 

“Hi.” The man says just looking at him for a second before he gets back to Gwen. “Please, please, it will just be a few minutes. I promise.” 

Gwen presses her lips together and then turns her head to look at Blake who nods at her. “Go, it sounds important.” She takes a few steps and then turns around to find him still looking at her. He brings a thumb up encouraging her as his dimples, once again, carve on his stubbly face making Gwen’s blood boil in her veins. 

And just like that, he’s alone again. 

  
  


He doesn’t have a problem socializing, in fact, he is really good at starting and keeping conversations going. He finds familiar faces inside the room and spends about an hour talking to different people, from Nashville producers to longtime industry friends. 

“Blake, finally alone.” He huffs when he hears the soft female voice. “I brought you a drink.” He decides to be nice and takes the drink from Daniela’s hand. “How’s the night going?” 

“Good, good. You?”

“Aside from you basically ignoring me, pretty great.” She goes straight to the point making Blake choke on his drink. 

“Dan, I just- It’s not a good time. I’m not in a good place at the moment. I appreciate the interest, I do, you’re great it’s just not-” He runs a hand through his hair, “You’re young, it’s not me you should be interested in.”

“You know, if you don’t like me, you can just say it. I’m not a kid.”

He gulps and tears his eyes away from her, “It’s not that I don’t. I mean, you’re great and I’m happy about your success, but that’s about it. I’m sorry.” She turns her back to him and Blake thinks that it would be better to clear everything and not let this end in a bad way, “Wait, please.” His hand touches her arm and part of him immediately regrets his decision. “Come with me for a second.” He says guiding her to the terrace. To his surprise she follows along until they’re outside, where he had been an hour before with Gwen. “I want to tell you something.”

“I don’t need to hear your rejection again, Blake.” 

He shakes his head, “That’s not it.” He says taking a look at the almost empty area, “Be yourself. That’s all you have to do now that you’re starting out and it’s working really well for you. Don’t play someone you are not just because you think more people will follow. Real fans and friends will be there for you for who you are, not for who you hang out with.” 

“I told you I don’t need to hear your rejection again, I got it.”

“This is not me rejecting you. This me mentoring a little.” He draws a smile on his face, “I do mentor raising stars on The Voice.” Daniela lowers her gaze to the ground, “I just want to let you know that you’re doing great and I wish you nothing but success. I can be your friend, help you out when you need it” she shoots him a questioning look, “I mean it.” 

“I’m a boring grown ass man,” he chuckles, “Believe me, I am boring and old. You deserve to live your life and right now it’s your time to enjoy yourself and your success.” 

She seems to understand the message then. She nods and he is taken a bit aback when she steps on her tiptoes and presses a shy kiss on his cheek. “I’m sorry and thank you.” She says turning around to head back inside, “You say you’re old and boring but you still have game. I like this Blake better than the one I met with Miranda two years ago.” His heart almost skips a beat at the mention of her ex-wife, but he nods and then watches her leave. 

She watches him from inside as he talks to Daniela in the terrace. At some point she kisses his cheek and it causes a reaction to take over her body. Trying to control it, she takes a deep breath and looks away for a few seconds. When she looks up again he can see him standing alone with a melancholic look on his face. She has two options, either find a familiar face in the room or walk outside and continue where they left off before she was taken away by Sam. She decides to walk out to him. 

She doesn't say anything, just walks up to him and takes the glass from his hand and finishes the rest of his drink. "I can get you another one if you want." He jokes looking down at her. 

"Why do producers think they own us?" He frowns at her, "Really. I write one song and suddenly they all start to picture an album. An album that I don't want to make. Or at least, not now." 

"You don't need to rush your creative process. Things will start shaping when you want them to do so." He explains calmly. 

"I haven't recorded anything in quite a while. Part of me misses it but I just don't have anything worth sharing at the moment."

"Then don't rush it. I'm sure you'll get there." 

"Is this what you do on The Voice? Calm nerves and give people advice?"

He nods, "to kids, not international stars." 

"Thank you. You give great advice." 

"Daniela seemed to think so too." He feels a bit bad for mentioning her like that all of a sudden. "She was just here." 

"She was?" Gwen asks fully knowing the answer to her question. Blake nods, "You know, she is pretty." 

He frowns at her words and then lets out a little laugh. "I gave her career advice." 

"I didn't ask."

"You were not asking very loudly." He nudges her side with his elbow. 

“I see you caught up on the teasing. Good job.” He slowly draws a smile on his face. “I kind of want to get out of here.” Gwen says letting her eyes travel from his eyes all the way down his scruffy face and onto the knot on his black tie.

“Y-you do?” Blake stammers as he follows the way her eyes. 

“Mhm, want to join?” 

“Of course.”


	2. Pocket

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your love and comments on the first chapter. So happy you enjoyed it. I hope you like this one too.

She's not one for bold moves, at least when it comes to taking the first step. She's more of the nervous, quiet and insecure one. She would say that's off-stage Gwen. The on-stage one is fierce, determined. She is not afraid to call on anybody's shit and speak her mind and heart loud and clear. She wishes she could have a bit of that Gwen in her day to day life. She thinks tonight might be the time to take that step. 

Blake follows her at a respectful distance, maybe because he's just that guy or because he does want to make it too obvious that he is following her, even less obvious that he is leaving _with_ her. She leads him to the back door and to the parking lot, where she knows she'll have a car waiting for her. When the door closes and the noise from the inside disappears, she stops on her feet which causes Blake to almost collide against her.

"Sorry." He apologises and then steps to the left to stand on her side, his arm almost brushing hers. "What now?" He asks, bouncing on his feet a little. 

Gwen bites on her lower lip, "I'm not sure." 

To her surprise, his cheeks twitch up and his dimples carve on his face again. "Do you normally get out of trouble when you flash the dimples?" She doesn't know what makes her ask the question, but now it's out there in the open and he's chuckling in response. "That was weird, wasn't it?" 

"They used to work pretty well on my mother." He replies looking down at her. "Still do sometimes."

"Bet they got you lots of girls too." She teases.

"I used to have a mullet, so, not many, no." He explains turning a bit on his feet to be able to look at her in the eyes. 

She lets out a laugh at that and her arm involuntarily reaches up to touch his arm. "A mullet, huh?"

"I called Google to ask how much it would cost to take all of my mullet pictures down and they told me even  _ I _ couldn't afford it." She continues to laugh, "I'm kidding, I actually didn't call but I wish those could magically disappear one day." He explains as she takes her phone out of her purse, "what are you doing?"

"Checking out your mullet." She points out as she types on her phone. 

"Oh, no, no, Gwen. We are just starting to get to know each other," he explains dramatically, "if you see those you're gonna send me home." 

She looks up for a brief moment as the page loads. "I'm going to google you either way at some point, so..." 

"Okay fine, but remember that I'm a country boy and that it was cool back then." 

There's a few minutes of silence as he watches her react to his mullet. To his surprise he only opens the third first pictures and lets out a small chuckle. 

"I actually like it."

"You don't need to say that to make me feel better." 

"I mean, you look better now, but it's not the worst mullet I have ever seen." 

"I take it you've seen lots of ‘em." He teases tilting a bit so he can nudge her side gently.

"I may have." She flashes her eyelashes at him, which makes him draw a small smile on his face. "Stubble is also a win. You were such a baby face in this picture." She pulls her phone up for him to see a picture of himself in the early 2000s. 

"What are you saying, that I am prettier now?"

She looks up at him as she presses her lips together, "I said no such thing." She says in a shy yet playful tone that says _yes, you're pretty,_ more than the contrary.

"For the record," He gets her attention again when her eyes had started to look away from his baby blues, "You were the prettiest in that room." He says tilting his head back to point at the room full of celebrities they just left behind. He can see her cheeks turning a bit red, "Just thought I'd let you know." He says proudly. 

She nods, "Thank you, Blake." 

  
  


"Okay, so what now?"

"I really didn't think this through." She says trying to see where her car is. 

"I can call my agent, see if he can get us a car. I'll drop you off wherever you need." 

"I have a car waiting, I just forgot where." She says unlocking her phone. "I'm gonna call Lizzie," She begins to explain as if Blake had known Lizzie his whole life. "See if she knows where the pick up zone is." She says pressing the call button and puts her device against her ear. The calling sounds ring for a few seconds until her friend picks up at the other end, "Hey Liz. You know where I get my car? No, I- yes, I am leaving the party." She huffs, "I know this was supposed to be a let loose night." Her hand flies across her platinum hair as she paces the ground, "I have done my fair share of socialising, even Sam introduced me to this producer and we talked. See, I do listen to you." She lets out a little laugh and then looks up to see where Blake is, only to spot him right behind her trying not to overstep in her conversation. "I've been in this party for like three hours, Liz c'mon." He frowns at her when she speaks the words and Gwen rolls her eyes at him. 

Gwen hums and stays quiet for a while as her friend speaks, "Liz," She huffs and then looks up at Blake once again, "I'm not leaving alone, okay? Just please tell me where the car is." She tries to make her admission fly under the radar, but her friend, and Blake, pick it up fast. "No, it's not like that." She takes a few steps to get as far away from Blake as possible. "Can you tease me about this tomorrow? Okay, thanks. I love you." 

When she spins around to face him and she almost wants to scream because it's clear that he picked up the conversation she had with Lizzie. 

Blake opens his mouth to speak but she stops him, "Don't say anything, please." She chuckles, a bit embarrassed. 

"I just-" He begins, "Don't show your friend pictures of my mullet if you get to talk about me with her." 

"Who says I'm going to talk about you to anyone?" 

"I guess I'll have to work for that to happen." 

Her phone buzzes and it's the driver letting her know that he will be right there to pick her up. 

Barely a minute later a black car appears in front of them. The situation turns a bit awkward for a moment because neither of them know how this is going to unfold. Does he go in with her? Does he not? 

"I uhm," He begins to say just to break the silence and hoping and she'll say something to follow. 

"Want to come in?" He internally smiles to himself as he hears the invitation to join her. "I can drop you off where-"

"Sounds like you can't wait to get rid of me." He says in a teasing tone that she immediately picks up. 

"On the contrary." She says reaching out for the door handle as he does the same, his hand landing on hers. 

His touch is soft and almost innocent, but the way he takes a step closer and almost brushes his lips against her ear tells her otherwise. "Let me open it for you." He whispers entirely too close to her ear for it to be considered friendly. 

She tries to keep her composure and reply with words, but she can just nod at his statement. Slowly, she takes her hand off the handle and brushes her top side against his palm as she retracts it back to her sides. 

"You have cold hands." He points out as he moves aside to open the door. 

"Yeah, that's normal for me." She says before entering the car. He watches as she does so and then takes off his blazer and lets his tie lose a little bit. 

"Here." He says as he closes the door behind him, "put it on. Or at least on your shoulders." 

She looks at him as if she is thinking about it, but after a couple seconds she gives in and takes the piece of clothing from his hands and puts it on. "You should have told me you were cold. We spent the night outside." 

"I was fine until now." She explains before she greets her driver, the same one that had dropped her off. "Blake's going," She turns to him when she realises that she has no idea where he has to go. 

"I'm staying at the Hilton." He explains to both occupants of the car, "Just a few blocks away." He tells the driver. 

"I thought you spent quite some time in LA to be living in a hotel."

" Yeah, I-" He scratches his stubble thinking how to address the subject he has been trying to not bring up during the night. "I'm moving to a new place next Wednesday and I already left my last house so that's why I'm at the Hilton." Not the whole truth, but not a lie either. 

"Oh, that's good. Been looking for a new place for the last few months, but no luck so far." 

"I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for." He says before he tears his eyes away from hers to focus on the outside for a while. She stares at him as he looks outside and this time her mind travels to different places. First it points out how well he looks in that vest which hugs his torso rather nicely. But then she watches as he closes his eyes for about two seconds and she thinks he looks hurt, or at least he is trying his best to not show that he is. 

"Are you okay?" She asks softly. 

He hums in response, "I'm just thinking how it's weird, but nice" he adds, "that you're still talking to me. First, I didn't expect to tap on your shoulder and second," He turns a bit on his seat to look at her as a smile draws on his features, "you should really act more, that was an incredible performance you pulled off. No script or prior notice whatsoever." She laughs a bit at his antics, but she feels her cheeks burn and a warm sensation run through her veins. "I think it deserves one last drink." He tries his luck. 

"Where?" 

"Hilton terrace?" He raises his eyebrows at her a bit playful, "Should be close to empty now. And if not, my room also has a pretty nice view. Has to have, cos it's damn expensive." He tries to soften the mood by throwing a small joke which has her chuckling. 

"You're smooth, I'll give you that." 

"Is that a yes?" 

"One drink." She says putting her index finger up. "I've had far too many already." 

"I promise. Just one." He knows it's not gonna be just one, but he's going to figure out how to make her stay longer later. For now, he still has an extra hour to an hour and a half with her. 

One turns into two and he realises that halfway through the second one Gwen moves closer to him, her arm touching his and her crossed legs nearly touching his. 

"This is amazing." 

"The company, right?" He teases, "I know." He flashes his dimples at her when her head turns to meet his gaze. His eyes look so Caribbean blue that it's almost hypnotizing. 

"Company's not so bad, no." She tells him with a small smile on her face. "This night didn't quite turn as I imagine it would." 

"How did you imagine it?" 

She sighs, "I don't know. Get out of the house and responsibilities. Let loose for a bit and hang out with some friends and probably head home around 2." 

"That's how I imagined it would go too. Only I found that most my friends, or people I know, were busy with their dates." He explains turning on his side a bit so that he can face her better. 

They're sitting on a chill-out kind of couch by the end of the terrace. "Going alone to these things is not a good idea, I realise that now." 

It's not a confirmation, but it's enough to let her know that he doesn't have anyone to go back to. 

"Better alone than badly accompanied." She says quietly. 

"Damn right."

Silence falls between them for a short while as they both stare out to the open sky before them. Blake, not so smoothly, moves his arm to the back of the sofa, and lets it rest close to her back without touching her. "I went alone as well." She says almost as a whisper. 

"Well then, I am glad I tapped on your shoulder." 

"Me too Blake, me too." 

The conversation shifts to music, Nashville and No Doubt's early days as they stay in their corner, his arm slowly moving closer to her back, but still not touching her. He wants to, he just doesn't want to scare her away. 

Around thirty minutes later the barman walks up to them and politely tells them that they are close to closing down for the night, which makes sense because when Gwen checks her phone she can see that it's nearly 4am. 

"Of course, we'll get going." Blake tells the younger man while Gwen keeps her head down. 

"Thank you Mr. Shelton." The barman excuses himself and walks away. 

Silence takes over them and it might be the first time since they've met in which it gets a bit weird. Her head falls back, finding his arm and he takes the moment to wrap it a bit around her as she moves a little closer to him. "We have to get going." He announces softly. 

She figures it's time to let on-stage Gwen come out for a bit. "Show me your terrace." She looks up to meet his eyes, her head still leaning against his arm on the back of the couch. "I don't want to go just yet." 

He stares at her as he presses his lips together, "Are you-"

"I'm sure." She beats him to it. 

He nods quietly as he stands up and then offers her his hand to help her get up. Not that she needs the help, but he is one for this kind of gesture. 

She thinks about letting go of his hand once she is up, but she doesn't. Instead, she shyly wraps her fingers around his and lets out a quiet sigh when she feels all the puzzle pieces fit together. 

Blake stares down at her in silence. He didn't expect this from her, but he won't complain. This connection feels nice, and if she wants to keep it going, he won't oppose to it. He's quite enjoying the company of this woman, who keeps surprising him as minutes go by. 

She also confuses him. She wants to go check his terrace, but now she is leading them back into the building as if she knew the way to his room. When they get to the elevators, she presses the down arrow, since they were at the last floor. Waiting for the lift to come feels like forever, but her hand is still in his, and Blake's wheels are still turning in his head. The metal box finally arrives, the ding sound startling him a bit, but he quickly follows her inside. 

Silence still surrounds them as the doors close and they both freeze on their spots. "You should press the number." She whispers to him, making his head tilt down to look at her. He stares for a few seconds not knowing exactly how this is going to unfold. He seems a bit lost in his thoughts and Gwen notices that. "Blake-" 

"Right, right. The number." He presses the number 7 and then moves back to her side, his hand still in hers. 

Complete silence takes them to his floor. The doors open up again but neither of them move. The doors start to close again but he moves his leg up to prevent it, and they open again. He leads her down the corridor until he stops in front of one of the last doors on the right. He turns to look at her and she softly smiles at him. "I need the key. It's in the inside pocket." He says pointing at his blazer on her. 

"Oh, right." She doesn't take the jacket off, instead she checks the right pocket first and finds it empty. She's about to check on the left one but his hand beats her to it as it softly brushes her breast when she gets startled by him. 

"I'm sorry." He apologises quickly, "it's hum-" He doesn't know if he should reach for the key himself or not after the small incident. "There's a-" She starts to take the blazer off but he stops her, "Can I?" He asks pointing at the left side of the blazer. She nods, so he reaches for the lapel where he finds a small zipper. He takes the card key out and flashes it at her with his dimples at full display. 

"What else are you hiding in this small pocket?" She teases reaching up to slide her fingers inside the smooth fabric. She finds it empty and she also realises it's a really small compartment. 

"I have no idea why there's such a small pocket in this blazer, but the key fit just fine and there's no way I could lose it since it has a zipper." He explains as he slides in the card, opening the door.

"I think it's meant for other stuff." She explains walking behind him. 

"What other stuff?" 

"Condoms." He chokes on his own saliva and she laughs at his reaction. 

"Imagine getting a condom out of this tiny pocket, no way. Condoms go inside the wallet. Always." 

"Do you take your wallet to award shows?" She asks teasingly. Blake stops on his feet and then shakes his head lightly. "So, there you go. Condom pocket. And if it's not, it's such a good idea that I might just design it for my brand." 

He stares at her in surprise but at the same time, in admiration. Who the hell is this woman? He asks himself as he bites down his lower lip. A smile appears on his face and he shakes his head. "Condom pocket." He lets out a small laugh. "You keep surprising me." 

"Tell me it's not an amazing idea?" She raises her eyebrows at him as she reaches for the small pocket again, "It's genius. I should drink more if it gets me this creative." 

"I think it's me." He says taking a step towards her. 

"You, what?" 

"I might be what's inspiring you. Not the alcohol." She bites down her lower lip. 

"Right. Don't flatter yourself so much." The teasing tone makes a chuckle escape his lips as he takes yet another step. 

"Want to check out the view?" 

He shows her outside and for a long minute he just lets her be. She walks to one end of the terrace and then to the other one, where she stays, her arms crossed just below her chest, as she watches the lights of LA in front of her. 

Blake leans against the doorframe, a bit enchanted by her figure standing a few meters away from him. She looks so relaxed and at ease that he doesn’t dare take her out of this small moment she has created for herself. He takes the time to undo his tie and slide it off of his neck and then unbuttons the first two buttons of his dress shirt. He thinks about keeping the vest, but slowly, he starts to unhook the small buttons as well. He’s about to slide it off of his back when she turns around. 

“Enjoying the view?” He asks playing with the tie in his hands. 

“Very.” She smiles leaning a bit against the stone end of the balcony. 

“Don’t do that, please.” 

“Do what?”

“Lean against the edge. Freaks me out.” He slips the tie in the back pocket of his black pants and then steps outside on the balcony. “Not a fan of heights.”

“Says the person who gets a suite with a balcony.” She points out teasingly. 

His dimples make an appearance again, “Not my smartest move.” Blake explains as she moves closer to where she is standing. “So, uhm, I was going to suggest to take over the mini bar, but it might not be the wisest idea I’ve ever had either.”

“Yeah, I should probably stop drinking.” 

“Who knows, maybe we can get your creative juices flowing and work on that condom pocket.” Now it’s his turn to tease and she finds herself really enjoying this almost childish side of him.

“I think I better get going, it’s late and I-” She prevents herself from announcing that she has to go pick up her kids at her parents house the next day. This night is not to get personal with any stranger, on the contrary, it’s a night to let loose. She thinks she’s had enough of that for today. “Thanks for, you know, tapping on my shoulder. It’s been fun.” A rush of sadness runs through her when she spots the disappointment on his face, as much as he tries to hide it, it’s visible that he still doesn’t want her to go. 

“Thank  _ you _ .” He emphasizes the last word and then leans back against the glass door and just enjoys the quietness for a second. “See you around?” He thinks about not asking the question, but thinking that he has nothing to lose, he does. 

“Yeah.” 

“That didn’t sound too convincing.” He points out. 

“I-” she moves away from the edge of the balcony, “I’m kind of a quiet person, I don’t party much.” 

“Good, me neither.” He assures her, “Listen, no pressure. Tonight was fun, I’m just saying that if you ever want to-” he runs his hand through his hair, “see me again or something, I would love to.”

“Okay.” She says quietly.

“You’re friends with Adam, right?” She’s a bit confused by the question.

“I wouldn’t say we’re friends, but I am close with Pharrell and I know he’s been on The Voice.”

“Love that guy.” 

“I do too.”

“So, if you ever want to see me again, he has my number.” She frowns at him, “I did say no pressure.”

She draws a smile on her face and then nods, “Okay.”

“I’ll walk you to the door.” He says letting her enter his room first. She takes her purse from the small coffee table by the armchair and in that exact moment it hits her. This is when the awkward  _ goodbye _ by the door __ followed by a weird handshake happens. When she hears the door close behind her, walks down the corridor and then rides down the elevator thinking of what she might have missed. Flashes of her night with him appear in her mind and she can’t help but smile at how the night unfolded. 

She continues to walk through his room until she reaches the small corridor that leads to the door. There she stops for a few seconds. She can feel his presence a couple of steps behind her but he keeps quiet, and so does she. Even if her mind is screaming at her to turn around. 

She doesn’t know where she gets the courage from, but she shuts off all the wrong this next move could cause and for once she just lets herself loose and do what she feels like doing, rather than what she thinks she should do. 

She lets her purse fall on the carpet and takes one big step to press her mouth against his, muffling the  _ oof  _ sound that escapes from his lips. Her arms rapidly move to the back of his head to touch small curls at the nape of his neck. She’d been secretly wanting to run her hands through his hair all night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't kill me. xx
> 
> Thoughts?


	3. Morning came

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy that you guys are enjoying this as much as I am. I'm very excited for what's to come for these two in this particular story.

He responds then. His lips open up to her demanding mouth and his arms wrap around her as he spins them around and lets her back, not so gently, press against the wall. She doesn’t protest, though, instead she just kisses him harder and with more urgency. This way, she tries to put behind everything that is running through her mind, her fear of being rejected or not reaching up to his expectations being one of them. As he trails a path of kisses down her throat, she pushes all negative thoughts aside. If for some reason he didn’t want her, he wouldn’t be kissing her back like he is doing just now. 

So she continues to let loose. 

The way his body presses against hers makes small goosebumps appear on her skin. There's something delicate about it, but also frantic, and extremely arousing. She thinks that his lips might be her newest addiction, so she grabs his face and tilts it up so that he can focus his kisses on her lips rather than down her throat. He seems to have other plans though, because a few seconds later, he is back to trailing kisses down her neck. She gives in at his attentive mouth on her skin as her head tilts back against the cold surface behind her. He chuckles against her delicious skin when she can't help the small moan that escapes her mouth when his lips find that spot that makes her knees give in. 

All the attention that he is putting on her only makes her want him more. With that in her mind, her delicate fingers slide the vest off of his shoulders and then travel to the top buttons of his shirt. 

That sets his alarms off. 

“Wait, wait.” He murmurs, leaning back a little bit so that he can look at her. He gets tongue tied when his eyes are met with her swollen lips, her lipstick scattered around her lips and, probably, also his. His hands travel slowly up her neck and to her face, where he tugs just a bit to have her gaze meet his. “Are we-” he clears his throat, “Are you sure you want to continue?” 

She breathes in loudly and then lets her forehead lean against his chin while she gets her emotions and breathing straight. “I do.” She informs, looking up almost scared to meet his eyes. “But if you don’t-” his fingertips fall against her lips.

“I do.” He presses his lips against her temple “God, I _really_ do.” His words come out in a raspy tone that gets two reactions out of her. In one hand, she can't help but be nervous because this is a huge step for her. Sleeping with a semi stranger is not something the Gwen she knows would probably do. It's not something that would even cross her mind. But this man brings out something in her that she has missed in the last twenty something years, and that is the thrill, the adventure and the excitement of jumping in head first. Of, for once, not thinking. 

On the other hand she feels empowered, happy, carefree and, in a way, cherished. His voice and movements lets her know that he is completely drawn into her and the way she is reacting to his touch. 

"Gwen?" His voice brings her back to earth. 

"Sorry, I-"

"We can stop."

"No, I-" She swallows and then takes a deep breath, "this is not something I normally do." Her gaze shifts away from him for a second and then returns, "I don't do this _period_." She stops him from taking a step back as her arms slide around the small of her back, "But I want to. And I don't know if it's wrong for me to want you" He shakes his head at her multiple times, "but it feels good to want you, so it shouldn't be wrong, right?" 

Blake rests his lips against her temple and lets out a small chuckle when he hears her ramble a bit. She's all kinds of adorable. 

"You're thinking too much." 

"Help me to stop thinking, Blake. Please." 

Slides his leg between hers which causes her breath to hitch and her head to fall on his shoulder as he grinds, slow but steady, against her centre. His mouth finds hers again fast and needy, as it muffles the small moans that he is causing her. Much to her disappointment, he slides his leg off between hers, but when she realises the reason why, she can't help but smile against his lips. 

His arms travel to her upper back and she bites down on her lower lip and looks up at him with a gin on her face. 

"What?" He asks when he meets his eyes. 

"Good luck finding the zipper." She can't help but tease him a little bit even in the position they are in. 

"Gwen!" He groans moving one of his palms over where he thinks the zipper should be, at her back. "Tell me where it is. I really need to get this off of you or-" 

She raises her eyebrows at him, "Or?" She pecks his lips softly.

"Or help me god."

She gets lost in the dark blue of his eyes for a couple of seconds before she reaches for his hands on her back and takes them to her right side, where she knows the zipper is. She guides his fingertips to find the zipper, and together they bring it down to almost her hips. 

"Did you design this hidden zipper as well?" He asks clearly referencing the hidden pocket of his jacket that they had joked about just minutes before. 

She laughs out loud at his question and then shakes her head. "Gucci did." 

"I'm calling them tomorrow. Should be easier to find a zipper." He mumbles in between kisses. 

His hands, slowly, slide off the rest of the top part of her dress to let it hang momentarily on her hips to then fall all the way to the floor. She takes a deep breath when she realises that there's one less layer on her now. She's basically standing in her underwear in front of his still very much dressed figure. 

She doesn't back away, instead she challenges him. "You know? It's a crime that you're still dressed." 

He stares down at her and then slowly starts to look up to meet her near-black eyes. "You're fucking gorgeous, Gwen." It's like he hasn't heard her just now, but, again, his words make her feel too much. Too much that she hasn't truly never felt before. Yes, she has been attracted to other men before, of course her ex-husband at some point made her feel all kinds of incredible things, but it's like she's discovering a brand new world with Blake.

The way she slowly drags his shirt off, after she unbuttons it, makes Blake groan against her neck and she just takes his reaction as a small victory. She's secretly loving this, driving him crazy. 

The way he suddenly picks her up and makes her wrap her legs around his waist does come as a surprise, but a good one. With his shirt all the way off, only his pants prevent him from being equally naked as her, but in this position she can just hold onto him as he moves across the room. 

"Bed." He mumbles before taking her earlobe in his mouth. 

She knows he doesn't need an affirmation, but she nods as her legs unhook from around his waist so that she can get to where she really wants. Take his pants off. Her hands reach for his button and as a cheeky smile plays on her lips. She pops it open and Blake watches. He stops breathing for a few seconds when her hand teasingly moves along his, still clothed, length. His pants fall all the way to the floor and Blake rapidly steps off of them so that he can get back to focus on her and only her. But Gwen has other plans. His breath hitches again when he suddenly finds himself pressed against the wall next to his bed, her body deliciously over his. His eyes close momentarily and then open again when he feels her drop a kiss in the centre of his chest. He feels conflicted by her sweet move, but he can't help but draw a soft grin on his face when she tilts her head up and her eyes meet his. 

He's normally able to talk, but the way she is looking at him has him unable to articulate any word or elaborate thought. His hands travel to the middle of her back to unhook her bra, and he does so expertly. When it falls into the ground, Gwen feels properly exposed, and a bit insecure for the first time since she met him. 

She would die to hear words from him, but she finds that his touch is all that she needs in this exact moment. He starts to trail kisses from her mouth, down her throat and all the way to the centre of her chest, where he stops and leans back to take one last look at her. She doesn't know why, but she nods and that's all he needs to take her nipple into his mouth. Her head rests against the wall behind her and she is glad to have this support because she feels his hand on her clothed centre just seconds later. Her breath hitches against this mouth and her knees quiver a little. 

"Fuck." She curses when two of his fingers move along her sensitive spot.

"Patience, we'll get there." There is no cockiness in his tone. If she weren't so clouded by the intense feeling growing inside of her, she would say that he even sounded sweet. 

"Blake," She lets out a barely there moan when he drops a kiss where her jawline begins. 

"What do you want?" The fact that he is asking wakes different things in her. One of them realising that it's been a while since someone has asked her _that_ in this situation. The other one, that she doesn't know what kind of answer he expects other than _you_. 

She meets his eyes in the dark and silence falls on them, the only thing that can be heard is their breath. "You." She announces.

His dimples carve on his cheeks and she can't help but move her hand up to poke one of them. His hand delicately rounds her hip and slowly travels along her ass and then to her sides where it settles for a few seconds. They stand still for a moment, him waiting on her as she takes a deep breath and nods at him. She slides his boxers off first, followed by him carefully taking off her panties, which fall into the ground next to his underwear.

He stares at her for what feels like forever and she can't help but bush a little when his intense staring becomes a bit too much for what they're doing. 

She lets out a small scream when he suddenly picks her up and spins them around to fall onto the mattress. 

Suddenly the mood changes and what was slow and almost delicate against the wall, becomes frantic and needy when his lips connect with hers again. He hovers over her in a delicious way that has her seeing stars and he hasn't even touched her in _that_ way yet. He seems to read her thoughts because his hand reaches down and moves against her folds, one, twice and she's waiting for a third tease that doesn't come. Instead he inserts one finger in her and she can't help but hold onto the sheets. His mouth finds hers soon after he slides in a second finger and she can't help but bite down at his lower lip when he increases the peace. It doesn't take her long to come undone after his fingers expertly work on her. Her back arches and he feels her coming undone as he presses his mouth on hers in a slow yet, hard way. 

"Shit," She lets out a breath against his neck when he retrieves his fingers from within hers and kisses her again. His grin lets her know that he is kind of proud of himself for getting her off rather quickly. 

"This is gonna sound funny but, I need to get my wallet for a condom." 

She wasn't expecting to laugh at this very moment but once again his goofy side makes an appearance, and she's thankful for it because it gets her to relax a little bit before the grand finale. 

"You're a dork." She softly hits his shoulder before he moves across the mattress to grab his wallet which is on the bedside table. 

He turns to her as he takes out the plastic package and grins when she rolls his eyes at his childish antics. He lays on his back as he expertly slides on the condom and before he can turn to her, she's on him, straddling his hips. His breath hitches when he feels her hand on him, guiding his length to her entrance. 

She meets his gaze, and that's all the confirmation she needs to sink herself into him. She finds herself holding her breath and she slowly adjusts to him and he is nothing but patient as he stares up at her in awe. 

They find their rhythm soon after, the only sounds breaking the silence of the early morning being their erratic breathing. When he starts to feel that she's close, he gets himself in a sitting position and she falls on his lap, the contact between them now hitting spots that she didn't even know existed. He moves his hands along her hair, as if he was combing it, the same time his eyes lock with hers. His arms set on her hips to guide her up, as he places a soft lasting kiss in the centre of her chest that seems to take her out of place for a second. It all comes back to their reality as her eyes open wide when his lips leave her skin and his palms on her hips guide her down, his length entering her at a very slow peace. 

This whole new position and the way he is touching feels way too romantic for what they're doing, but she can bring herself to comment or even give it too much thought because his hand finds her clit and he increases the rhythm until she comes on top of him and he rides out her orgasm until he finds his release as well. 

There's a full minute of just getting their breathing back on track after the incredible high. She feels his hand on her arm the whole time and it calms her to feel that even then he still needs to feel some kind of connection with her. 

"Fucking christ," His voice nearly startles her, "That was incredible." 

She finds herself smiling at his words. It had been a while since she last had sex, so getting this reaction from him is gratifying. Watching him come undone below her had made her feel so incredible that part of her is waiting for it to happen again. "It was?" She doesn't know why she asks, but it's out before she can take it back. 

His body moves on the mattress, so that he can meet her eyes. He nods at her as he gets lost in her features, "Yeah, Gwen. It was, it is." She wets her lips and then presses them together to control her emotions. "You," He presses a kiss on her nose that causes a small giggle to escape her mouth, "blow my mind. All of you, not just what we did just now. Which I have to say-" She cuts him off with her lips on his mouth because she really just needs him to talk less and move more. She is not ready for sweet words and light touches, tonight. As much as she would love to get to know him in that way, is not about that at all. No feelings. Just jumping in head first. 

  
  


After round three she tells herself that she will just close her eyes for a brief moment, just five minutes to get herself back together before she leaves.

She ends up falling asleep only to be woken up by the sound of her ringtone. 

"Wha' that sound?" She hears his sleepy voice. 

Fuck, she fell asleep. 

She reaches for her phone to see Lizzie's name on the screen. She doesn't bother picking up. Instead she turns off the call and shots her a quick text saying that she will call her back in thirty minutes. She lets her back rest against the headboard and then finally looks down to find his eyes open and on her.

Well, here comes the awkward morning after. 

"Hey," She says, trying to sound as collected as possible. 

"Gwen," He breathes out still not quite believing that she's still here, in his bed and naked. "Hi." 

"Sorry about that." She says putting her phone down on the bedside table. 

"No, it's okay." He reassures her, "time 's it?" She finds herself smiling at his thick accent in the morning hours. 

"Almost nine." 

"Christ, that means we only slept 3 hours. Good night." He says covering himself with the sheets. 

She watches his adorable move and is tempted to do the same but then remembers that she has to pick up her kids at her parents house. 

"I have to go." She breaks the silence. 

For a few seconds he doesn't reply or move, which makes her believe that he has fallen asleep. Just as she's about to jump out of bed, his head appears from under the sheets and he props himself up on his elbows. 

"Don't." It's the only word that comes out of his mouth when she swings her legs on the edge of the mattress. He moves forward and carefully lets his hand caress the soft skin of her back. His touch doesn't startle her, but it does make goosebumps appear on her skin. "Stay." He's normally much better when it comes to speaking but she's a puzzle that he still has to put together. "Sleep a little more, or I can get breakfast." 

"Blake, I-" She hugs the sheets closer to her chest and then turns to look at him. He looks deliciously beautiful laying on the bed, his naked chest at full display and very welcoming. "I can't." 

"Why?" 

"I have stuff to do and-" She breathes in trying to hold her emotions.

"So, this is it for us?" He sits properly as he waits for her answer. 

"Don't ask me that." She takes the sheet and walks to where she spots her underwear on the floor. With a silly grin on her face, she picks it up and slides it on. 

"I understand." She hears his voice as she reaches for her dress. Slowly, she puts it on and then walks back to the bed, where he finds him sitting with his boxers and a white shirt. "Let me at least get you some breakfast on the go." She's about to shake her head when he insists, "Please." 

"Okay." She nods at him, "I'm going to go to the toilet for a second." 

She's inside the bathroom for five minutes, which he uses to get breakfast and hotel merchandise so that she doesn't step outside in the same clothes she was wearing yesterday. 

When she comes back out, she spots a trolley with food and she smiles at how thoughtful he is. 

"I didn't know what you liked so I got a bit of everything." He says proudly. 

"I am hungry, actually."

"After three rounds, it's normal." He teases as he pours coffee in a mug. She stares at him as she bites the inside of her cheek to hide the grin that wants to break free on her face. "Almost four if you hadn't slept on me."

"Me?" She lets out a laugh, "I told you twirling my hair would put me to sleep." 

"You have really soft hair, it's nice to touch." He explains, "Do you want milk?"

"A bit." She watches as he carefully pours the milk in the mug. 

"Your Blatte, madam." 

"Blatte?" She frowns.

He nods, "Blake latte. Blatte." She snorts and then takes the mug in her hands. "There's croissants and bagels, you choose." 

To his and her surprise she ends up eating one of each along with her coffee. He sits in the arms chair while she decides to take the unmade bed, a bed that they had taken full advantage of just hours before. 

“I got you some clothes in case you didn’t want to step outside all dressed up.” He says before he takes another bite of his bagel. “I know it’s not Gucci, but you’ll fly under the radar.” He says pointing at the gym clothes laying on the bed. 

“That’s very thoughtful, thank you.” She reaches for the clothes and then heads to the bathroom. 

“You know I’ve seen you naked right? You can change here.”

“You're working hard for round four, huh?” She teases as she walks backwards towards the bathroom. 

When she gets back outside, Blake’s waiting for her in front of the bathroom door. “I don’t know how to do morning afters.” He says quietly as he stares down at his bare feet. “It’s been a long time since the last one.” She will admit to herself the same thing, that she was afraid of waking up next to him in broad daylight, due to the awkwardness it could cause. So far it’s not fully awkward, but it’s not the same _them_ of the night before. “I don’t want this – us, to become awkward just because I don’t know how to act or what to say.” He fidgets with his fingers as he speaks, and she won’t tell him that, but she finds it adorable how he seems to be nervous about this. 

“It’s not awkward.” She tells him, who gives her a questioning look, “okay, maybe a bit, but it’s not _bad_ awkward.” 

“Are you telling me that you’ve had worst morning afters?” 

She takes a moment to reply, “Much like you, it’s been a while for me as well.” 

He’s just now starting to realise that he knows so little about her. He knows about that sound she makes when he touches all the right places, but he doesn’t know something as simple as her coffee order or favourite song, even less about her personal life. 

"Do you think we can see each other again?" He asks when the silence becomes heavy. 

"I-" She hugs her dress closer to her chest, "I don't know." 

"That's not a no. I'm happy." He flashes his dimples at her and she can't help but grin back at him. "I know I don't know you, and that you have your own life. I respect that and I know that this-" He moves his hands between them, "this was fun. I enjoyed your company at the party and the night would have been amazing as it was if you had walked out the door then-"

"Blake-" She tries to cut him off but he continues.

"But you didn't and-" 

"Can we not do this now?" She asks him as he lets her back fall rest against the wall. 

"When then? You won't even give me your phone number." He is not mad, just a bit confused. He finds it very difficult to read her and he doesn't want this to end up with her walking out the door angry at him or regretting what they had, even if just for one night. 

"You don't want to get involved with me." 

"And why is that?" He asks in a calm tone. 

"Because no one wants to, that's why." 

"I liked getting involved with you last night, and you seemed to like getting involved with me too."

"I am a mum of three, recently divorced and with a career that is not going anywhere." She spats at him, "This _me_ you met last night…" She looks down at her feet to collect her thoughts and then back up to meet his blue eyes. "It's not my day to day me. You'd get tired of the real me so fast that there's no point in getting to know her." 

He huffs and runs a hand through his hair while he thinks of a way to reply. 

"I'm recently divorced as well." She makes a move to cut him off but he continues before she can get a word in, "And last night was the first time in the last few months that I felt like myself again. Spending time with you and talking to you opened something in me that I thought I had lost." 

"I'm no saviour Blake. I'm sure you would have felt the same if you had tapped in someone else's shoulder." 

He shakes his head, "I don't think so."

Silence forms between them again and it feels awkward and heavy again, which makes both of them uncomfortable. "I will be back in LA in about two weeks for The Voice. Could we grab lunch or dinner?" 

"Maybe." 

"That's not a no. I'm happy." He repeats the word he had said minutes before and that steals a grin from her. "I don't want to keep you waiting." He decides that now is probably not the best time to get personal or continue the conversation that might take a turn and go downhill again.

They keep their eyes lock on each other as both lean against opposite walls in the narrow corridor that leads to the door. 

She cuts the silence when she starts to call out numbers that appear to be her phone number. He rapidly reaches for his phone on the coffee table and asks if she can call it out again, which she does. 

She turns her phone over when it buzzes on her hand. The words _Condom Pocket_ stare back at her and she can't help but snort at his silly text. 

She saves his number and then looks up to find him closer than before. 

He leans down to press his lips at the corner of her mouth. She doesn't protest, quite the contrary. She holds her breath and wishes he could move a little and press his lips to hers one last time, but he doesn't. 

So she does. 

Her lips press lightly against his as her hand rests on top of his heart. It's over too soon, but he doesn't complain one bit. 

He takes two steps and opens the door for her. "See you around, Gwen. Thanks for last night, all of it " He says before she crosses the threshold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would love to know your thoughts on this one :) xx


	4. Cowboy casanova

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay. I had a bit of a writers block because I couldn't find a good and believable way for these two to meet again. 
> 
> I hope you like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday Val!!!!

He walks into The Voice set with a smile on his face and a to-go cup of coffee in his hand. He looks down at the paper cup and chuckles as he shakes his head lightly. Hollywood is really rubbing off on him, now he gets coffee to go at the Starbucks around the corner from his new LA home. 

When he enters the lounge area, he finds Christina talking to Pharrell. The female singer smiles at him and he walks closer to greet them both. The last time they had seen each other was a month ago at the Grammys, where they talked for a few minutes. 

"Imma kick all of your pretty butts this season." Blake jokes with his two friends as they both roll their eyes at the country artist. 

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that." Christina tells him as she nudges his side teasingly. 

Pharrell, being the nice guy that he is, just nods at him and then changes the subject. "By the way, Blake. Gwen Stefani said that she met you at the Grammys." 

_ Gwen.  _

He hadn't heard from her since they briefly texted a  _ hello, how are you? _ about two weeks ago. Blake had told her that he was cancelling his trip to LA due to business in Nashville and she just replied:  _ ok.  _ He decided not to say anything after that. So now, it had been a month since he saw her and two weeks since he last heard from her. He _definitely_ wasn't counting. 

"We did." He keeps his response short and to the point. He didn't know how much Gwen had shared with Pharrell. She didn't look like someone that would openly talk about her sex life, but again, he doesn't know her  _ that _ well. "Met her by the bar at the after party and talked for a bit." 

"Good. She is the best. Love her to pieces." Pharrell praises the No Doubt front woman in a way that makes Blake happy that she has a friend like him. 

"Oh yeah, Gwen's a sweetheart. Coolest girl." Christina jumps in. 

"She obviously didn't know who I was, and even though my ego was a bit hurt, she made it up to me and got me a drink." He jokes trying not too dive into specifics. 

"That sounds like Gwen." Pharrell agrees before they all get called to meet at the set. 

The day goes well, just like any other on set. The Voice is his escape from the world, his moment to pass on to the younger generation what he has learnt from this industry that gives him as many headaches as it does of good things. They're all getting ready to start the live episodes the following week, so there's added pressure to the artists since they all want to make it as far as possible on the show, but only a few of them will make it through. 

He meets with his three remaining artists throughout the week, to film their bit together, but also to help record the song and add final touches to their performance when they rehearse at the main stage. 

Blake has planned to leave for Nashville Thursday night, but as he is about to leave The Voice's studios, his producer calls saying that they have to cancel their previously scheduled recording session. Part of him is happy about it because he wasn't quite feeling the songs he had to record. The label has been nagging him about a new album for a few months now, but he just doesn't see himself singing about happy times and love when he hasn't felt like his bubbly self in a while. Neither does he want to have a full heartbreak album, no one will like that and he doesn't want the divorce drama to come back now that the waters have been calm for a while. 

"Why?" He asks as he leans against the side of his truck. He listens as his producer tells him that there's a last minute meeting he has to attend out of the country. "Okay, yeah. No problem." 

As he drives to his rental, he thinks about what to do. Stay in LA for the weekend, seeing that he has to film on Monday, or go to Nashville and maybe call some friends. He doesn't know who is in the Tennessee capital, so before flying over there to be left alone in his hotel room, he decides to stay in LA. He will find something to do. 

_ Sure _ . 

He decides to have a lazy morning on Friday. Having nowhere to be is kind of weird because that's the only reason he comes to LA. He never says that he lives in the city, he just works here. That's why as soon as he doesn't have anything keeping him in town, mostly The Voice, he always goes away. 

His phone buzzes on the coffee table as he plays a little guitar in his backyard. 

_ I'm going to Pharrell's later today for a small gathering. He told me to invite you. _

Adam. He and the Maroon 5 lead single had exchanged some texts the night before, in which the country artist had told his friend that he was staying in LA. 

_ He told you to invite me?  _ Blake replies.

_ You know the guy, he is a man of few words. It starts at 3pm. See you there?  _

_ I'll be there.  _ Blake sends the last text and then places his phone back where it was and gets back to his guitar. 

  
  


It's around half three when he gets to Pharrell's place. When he gets out of the car, he fixes his maroon shirt and cap on his head before he closes the door and locks the car. As he gets closer to the house, he starts to hear some music and some people talking. He is greeted by Pharrell's wife at the door. They haven't met before, but she recognises him as he walks up the stairs to the front door. 

"Thanks for the invite." He says shaking her small hand, "Adam didn't tell me what this was about, but I bought two bottles of wine." 

"Thank you, Blake. It's actually my kid's birthday party but I am thinking most of the parents will be happy to drop the orange juice for a bit of wine." She jokes as she walks Blake inside the mansion. 

_Oh god_ , he was invited to a kids party. This is gonna be great.

"You didn't tell me this was a kids party." He finds Adam at one side of the garden, talking to his wife. 

"You wouldn't have come if I had." 

"Damn right." Blake says hugging Adam close, "Hi Bee. Looking great as always." He takes her petite body in his arms as well, and the model hugs him right back. 

"Blake, long time no see." She smiles up at the country singer, who nods before taking a sip of his beer. "I heard you love kid parties, huh?" She teases him. 

"Yep, my favorite." 

Their conversation shifts to The Voice and then tour plans for Maroon 5. They get interrupted when Bee hears Dusty cry from afar and both her parents rush to her, leaving Blake by himself at one side of the garden. He enjoys the rest of his beer alone, thinking that him being at this party, is one of the funniest moments of his life. He really has nothing to do other than laugh with Adam and maybe exchange a few words with Pharrell, but one seems to be busy with his family and the other is the host. He takes a look around and realises that it really is a small gathering, so small that he doesn't really recognise anyone. There are more kids than grown ups and he thinks if parents really drop off their kids at these kinds of parties, or people in this party have big families. 

He thinks about staying and socialising a bit, but he is really not in the mood to fake friend anyone or worse, he doesn't want to listen to baby and kid stories for the entire afternoon, not even from Adam and he loves the man to pieces. He tells Adam that he is going to head out and he doesn't fight it, the band leader understands that this is not his place. He heads for the porch, where he thinks he will find Pharrell, but he doesn't, so he walks inside the house. He sees him in the kitchen talking to someone that he cannot see from where he is standing. 

"Hey Pharrell, I'm sorry to interrupt," He begins to say as he walks inside the big kitchen, "but I have to head out-" He stops talking when he finds out who Pharrell is talking to. 

_ Gwen. _

He really didn't think about this possibility. Seeing her again has been in his plans since she had left his room almost two months ago, but the possibility of finding her here hadn't even crossed his mind. Involuntarily, he pats his button down and almost reaches up to take off the cap hiding his pepper hair. 

"Gwen-" He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. 

"Hi." She replies, clearly not expecting to find him here either. There's a few seconds of complete silence as they look at each other not knowing what to do or what to say. 

"You're heading out?" Pharrell interrupts the silence and startles Blake a little bit. His blue eyes leave her for a moment to meet Pharrell's who is carefully watching the scene unfolding before him. 

"I uhm- This is not really my kind of thing. I appreciate the invitation but I just- I love kids don't get me wrong, I just like parties with adults better." He bites down his lower lip and meets her eyes with his as when he pronounces the last words. She lets out a quiet chuckle as she listens to his reason for departure and then softly shakes her head looking down, to his the smile playing on her face. 

"Stay a little longer?" He is surprised when it's her who asks. "I'm an adult, so you should be okay around me." 

He can't say if she is teasing him or not, but the way she, nonchalantly, asks him to stay a little longer has his minds going back to the night they met, when he was the one making up reasons to have her stay longer. 

"Yeah, Blake. Stay a little longer. We're gonna have a BBQ in about an hour, when most of the kids and families leave. Adam's staying." The producer thinks that maybe dropping Adam's name will help Blake take the decision. "Gwen and two other couples and that's it. Please stay, God knows we need you to keep Adam under control." 

Blake chuckles and then nods at his friend, "Okay. I'll stay but next party is at my place and starts after the kids are in bed." 

"I'll be there. You're the best host." Pharrell says before he turns to Gwen, "I'm gonna check if Helen needs anything." He walks out of the kitchen with both, Gwen and Blake's eyes on him until they can see him any longer.

Blake lingers his gaze on where Pharrell disappeared for a few seconds as he tries to collect his thoughts and what he is going to tell her. When he turns back around, he finds her in the exact same spot she was before, just now she's leaning against the counter. Their eyes meet and for a few seconds they just stare into each other as they both find something to say. 

It's him who breaks the silence first, "I wasn't expecting to find you here " 

She smiles at him, "Yeah, me neither." 

"I uhm-" He begins to say when he takes a step forward, "How are you?" 

"Good, I'm okay. You?"

"Same." 

There's no denying that this random encounter is unexpected, weird and for now a bit uncomfortable. She watches him quietly as he takes off his cap and runs a hand through his delicious curls. She wishes she could do that instead of him, but this is not the time or the place.

"I wasn't going to be in LA this weekend, but my producer cancelled a session in Nashville so I stayed. I don't normally do weekends here." He explains when he finds nothing else to tell her. In reality he does know what to ask and tell her but he is scared of doing so here. 

"You really don't like this city, do you?" She asks with a smile playing on her lips. 

"Too much concrete." That makes her chuckle and tilt her head down to the Vans on her feet. 

Silence takes over them for a little while again as her head stays down and his eyes don't leave her figure. Some seconds later he breaks it, "I wanted to call." 

"Blake-" She tries to cut him off but he continues talking as he takes another step towards her. 

"I just didn't know if you wanted me to." 

She sighs, "It's been complicated." 

"Too complicated to keep in touch?" 

"You ask me that as if I ignored you. It's not like you texted me either." 

Now it's his turn to sigh as he fidgets with his cap. "That's true, I'm sorry. I just-"

"Momma," A soft voice interrupts then as a little curly haired boy enters the kitchen and crashes against Gwen's legs. Her attention turns to her kid and Blake watches their exchange in silence. He finds it precious how her voice changes when she speaks to her son and how she is completely interested in the story the little guy is telling her. "Sounds like you're having fun, huh?" 

"Yeah." His curls bounce on his head when he nods. 

"Great. Go have fun baby, mommy will be around." He takes off before Blake can say anything. Not like he wasn't planning to introduce himself to the little boy, but maybe a  _ hi _ and a high five. "That's Apollo. My youngest." She looks up to find him already looking at her. 

"He's cute." 

"He is." She says and Blake waits for her to continue, "I haven't reached out because this is who I am Blake. A mum of three boys that are slowly adjusting to having two homes and not seeing their parents together." 

"There's not only one Gwen, I'm sure of that." 

"There is." She assures him as she walks over to the jar or orange juice laying on the kitchen island, which is closer to where he is. 

"The Gwen I met at the Grammys was you. Same one that's standing in front of me just now." 

"I told you that wasn't something I did." 

"What? Sleep with strangers?" She shoots him a look, but that doesn’t stop him from continuing, "Do you ever let loose?" He regrets the moment the question leaves his lips. She looks like she is ready to take off and slam the door on his face by the angry look clouding her eyes. 

"Not all of us are like you." She replies crossing her arms on her chest. 

"What does that even mean?" He asks taking one step closer to her. 

"Nothing."

"No," He presses, "Tell me. I want to know." 

"We just lead very different lives, Blake." She closes her eyes as if she was tired, "Country crooner, that apparently drinks a little too much and is a master at no-strings-attached." 

He looks hurt as he listens to the words leave her mouth. He presses his lips together and turns around to leave but when he's about to take a third step, he stops and turns to look at her. 

"You clearly don't know me and the magazines and google articles you've been checking don't do either." He lets out a loud sigh and then puts his cap back on his head. "The guy you met at the Grammys, that's who I am." 

"Do you realise that the guy I met at the Grammy's basically drank a little too much and ended up under the sheets with me?"

Someone walks into the kitchen when he finishes the sentence and silence takes over again. The young woman who just entered the room eyes at them for a second and then walks over to the fridge to get a bottle of water. Blake doesn't tear his eyes away from the No Doubt front woman, whom after a few long seconds of his intense staring, looks away. When the young woman leaves again, Blake speaks again.

"You say that as if you hadn't kissed me first." 

She groans, "Look, Blake." 

"I get it. I was a distraction." He cuts her off, "Your moment to let loose."

"That's no-" 

"Don't lie to me. That's all I ask at this point." He presses his lips together and takes a moment to himself as he looks outside through the big window in the kitchen. 

"You're right, I don't let loose. But I didn't use you. I wanted that to happen, something about you or maybe that night in general pulled me towards you and-" She takes a moment before she continues, "I don't know why. You made me feel alive again, kind of. I never had this desire to kiss someone, let alone sleep with someone I didn't know." 

"I know, I'm irresistible." He jokes which has a chuckle escape her lips. 

"You brought out something in me that night that confuses me. You don't confuse me, just the me I was with you." 

"You're thinking way too much again."

"When I stop thinking, I sleep with you and that-" 

"Then stop thinking again." He comes to stand before her as his dimples carve on his face.

Talking with him is all kinds of weird. A minute he looks like he is going to storm out and never talk to her again. Some minutes later he makes her laugh and a few seconds after that he looks at her like he wants to suck all the air out of her lungs. 

"You're crazy." She takes a step back, "This is not the time or the place for this-" He raises his eyebrows at her teasingly, "For this  _ conversation _ ." She clarifies. 

"Here I was thinking that you wanted to let loose in your friends' kitchen." He winks at her and then reaches up to softly caress her cheek, "Have dinner with me." 

"I can't, Blake."

"So you'd want to jump straight into business? Kinky." He wobbles his eyebrows teasingly, which causes her to softly hit his pectoral. 

"I'm going outside." She tells him before she takes off chuckling and shaking her head at his childish antics.

Blake ends up being the one in charge of the BBQ. There he learns that aside from Adam, Behati and Gwen, the other two couples are school parents. Their kids go to class together and apparently collaborate with Pharrell from time to time as they work in the fashion and legal business. 

He also learns that Gwen considers herself a vegetarian, even though she admits to eating fish sometimes and a little meat on special occasions. Adam seems to be completely in awe of the No Doubt front woman as he names song after song and tells the story of how he saw them in concert when he was only fifteen. 

"Yet she looks younger than you." Blake teases his friend, who nudges his side and steals one of the hotdogs he's cooking. Gwen smiles at him, "Please Bee, don't let him go bald again, it was too easy to make fun of him on TV." Blake closes the BBQ as the meat continues to cook and reaches for his Corona. 

"I made sure he doesn't do that again. If he does, I'll file for divorce." He laughs at Behati's words, but he also sees Gwen let out a silent sigh as she leaves the little group to go check on her son, who is now playing along with a few cars. 

  
  


The evening goes by quite calmly aside from a few cries and minor fights with the kids, which Apollo keeps himself away from. Blake finds himself checking on the little guy from time to time, which is weird for someone who has never had a kid. He also realises that even though he doesn't know the kid's father, Blake finds a lot of Gwen in the way Apollo moves and speaks. The kid asks for a burger directly to him and Blake finds himself squatting down so that they can be at the same eye level. He realises that Apollo seems to like his cap, so he hands it to him along with the cheese burger and jacket potato. He smiles to himself when the kid takes off with his plate and immediately goes to his mother to show her the cap, first, and then the food. He watches the scene unfold right before his eyes and he feels content. It’s adorable how the kid shows off his cap at his mother and then forgets about it when Gwen points at his food. Apollo takes the burger in his tiny hands and dives into it. Seeing that he’ll be busy for a little while, her eyes shift to Blake, only to find him already looking at her. Making sure that her son is busy with his food, she stands up and walks up to him, who is finishing up on the BBQ. 

"Here," She says handing back the cap to him. 

"He can keep it, I have a bunch of them at home." He assures her. "See the name on it?"

"Ten point ranch." She read.

"That's the name of my ranch. I had some made for when friends come to visit. He can keep it." 

"Blake-"

"It's just a cap, Gwen." 

"But you gave it to him." 

"If you're jealous, I can get one for you too." His dimples appear on his face and Gwen can help but chuckle at his words and melt a bit when he spots the holes on his face. Ever since she met him, she had always been drowned to them. Apparently so those the whole damn country. 

"That's not the point." 

"Enlighten me then, because I'm lost." He says flipping the last two burgers, one of them being hers, a vegetarian one. 

"It's just that he is-" She runs a hand through her platinum hair and looks away for a second. 

"I'm not trying to charm your kid with my merch you know?" He cuts her off when he figures out what's scaring her. "He liked it and I know better than to fight kids who want something. That's why I gave it to him. Now, I'm sorry if I overstepped. I can take it back." 

She presses her lips together for a moment and then just shakes her head, "He says that you're very tall." She decides to change the subject.

"Observant kid." He draws a soft smile on his face, "He moves just like you. Gestures I mean." He begins to explain and he puts the bread to toast on the BBQ. "He looks quiet, reserved." 

"He does get that from me as well." Gwen comments before stealing a slice of tomato from the tray next to Blake. "I don't want him to be like me." 

"What? Talented and beautiful?" He says softly. 

She tries to hide the reaction that his words cause her, but she can tell he has spotted the red on her cheeks.

"Scared and insecure." 

He shakes his head at her, "I don't see a scared and insecure person. Reserved? Yes. But so am I and everyone in this garden. A scared and insecure person doesn't go to the Grammy's alone, she doesn't raise three boys by herself and still manages to produce boops." 

She chuckles, "Did you just say boops?" 

"That's all you get from everything I said?" She knows he is teasing her. 

"I heard you, Blake." 

"It's normal to close your doors and build walls after going through a divorce. I know that, I've been there. I am there. But that doesn't make either you or me, scared or insecure, just human." 

"How is it that you always know what to say?" 

"My parents made me that way, I guess." He winks at her and then turns back to the BBQ to finish up her and his burgers. "This is the first ever veggie burger I cook, consider yourself lucky." 

"Now I'm scared." She jokes before she takes a bite. "This is really good." She lets out a small moan and then attacks the burger again. 

"Don't go moaning in front of me." She blushes again and nods at him as an apology. “I might have to do something about it.” 

“Like what?” He is surprised when she teases back. 

He takes a look around to see that everyone is busy and not looking their way, so he leans towards her a little bit, “This is not the place to do what I want to do.”

She loses herself momentarily when her eyes drop to his lips and gets an immense desire to just say _fuck it_ and kiss the air out of his lungs when he wets them. “Then stop doing that.”

“Doing what?” He pushed even though he knows what she is talking about very well. 

“You know what.”

“Makes you want me?” He leans in a little bit more. 

"Blake-" She warns him. 

"Cos I sure want you. Again." Her breath hitches on her throat and she freezes right there and then. He is closer than what would be considered appropriate for two people that barely know each other. He tears his eyes away from her for a second to check on the other guests. They seem to still be occupied with other stuff. 

"I told you this is not the place to talk about this." 

"And yet here we are. Talking about  _ this _ ."

"No, you're basically flashing your damn dimples me." She says, clearly affected by them.

"And it's working." 

She rolls her eyes at him and then places her hand on his chest to gently push him away. "They're not." 

"They  _ so _ are." He says proudly. 

"Do you do this with every girl you meet?" She asks in a more serious tone. 

"Regardless of what the magazines say, I'm no cowboy casanova. I don't flash my dimples and get girls, Gwen. That's not who I am."

"So what happened between us is not something you regularly do?" 

"If you're asking if I have meaningless one night stands regularly, no, I do not. I hadn't in years until you." 

"So you're saying I was a meaningless one ni-"

He shakes his head, "No. You were a very meaningful night. Not only the sex, which was  _ ah-mazing _ , but the whole night with you was great." 

She takes a moment to think of what to say next, "Why?" 

"Why, what? 

"Why would you want to do it again?"

He chuckles, "I like you." 

She lets out a sarcastic laugh, "Right." 

"Why is it unbelievable to you that I actually like you and want to spend time with you?" 

"Because no one does." 

He frowns and then softens his face, "What do you mean?" 

She sighs, "I'm- I don't know, I feel like I've lost me. That after putting it all aside to be a full-time mum and wife, I don't know how to be me, not the mum of three me. Just me." She takes a moment to catch her breath and check if he is still listening. He is, so she continues, "I knew you didn't know much about me when we met, so that gave me a few hours to be another Gwen, a Gwen that is not recently divorced and has three kids under 10. I liked that Gwen, and I think that makes me a horrible person because I love my kids."

"It doesn't." He adds. "You are not defined by one aspect of your life. There's a lot of things that make who you are, one of them is being a mum. That alone doesn't define you, it's just a brick of the whole you." 

Gwen rests her hands on her hips and looks down at her feet, “I don’t know if I can be her again.” 

“You might have forgotten about her, but she’s still there.” She points to her. “And by the way,  _ that  _ side of you is pretty cool.”

“Pretty cool? What are you 10?” She looks up at him as her cheeks twitch up. 

“I could use other adjectives but this is a kids party.” She frowns and bites the inside of her cheek. Suddenly, his voice lowers and she thinks she might just die, “I also remember that she was all up for round four the last time I saw her.” 

She bites down her lower lip, “She also remembers telling you that twirling her hair would put her to sleep.”

“It’s just so soft.” He pouts.

“She has other parts that are soft.” Blake chokes on his own saliva.

“You  _ cannot  _ go saying things like that.”

“But it’s fun to tease you.”

One of Pharrell friends' comes by and interrupts their conversation when he asks Blake about The Voice. He finds it weird how he just walked up to them to ask such a specific question, seeing that he barely remembers the guy's name, but he politely replies and keeps the conversation going. Gwen seems to be interested about hearing what he does on The Voice, she even ends up asking him a couple of questions. 

About five minutes later, everyone has made their way to them as the conversation flows into various different subjects until some of the kids start to get cranky. The Levine's and the lawyer couple are the firsts to leave, followed by the other couple with their two kids. 

That leaves the hosts, Gwen, Apollo and Blake sitting at the porch watching as the sun sets behind the mountains. 

"Apollo looks great, Gwen." Pharrell mentions. "Sorry King and Zuma couldn't make it." 

She smiles at her friend, "They said they were too old for a kids birthday party." Gwen imitates her sons voice and gestures which makes all of the adults laugh. "They stayed at my parents." 

Silence takes over them for a long minute as they all peacefully watch the sunset. "I'm gonna get going." Blake announces, breaking the silence. "This wasn't so bad, I might have to attend more kid parties." 

"That means that you'd have to stay more weekends in LA. Sure you'd be able to take that?" Pharrell teases him. 

"This damned place." The country artist jokes as he stands up. "Thanks for the invite." He says hugging Pharrell and his wife. When he turns to Gwen, he doesn't know what to do. Seeing that hugging her might be bit too much, he offers her his hand to take. "Nice to see you again." He draws a soft smile on his face and then winks at her since no one can see his face but her. His thumb caresses her hand lightly which makes her cheeks twitch up. When he lets go, he squats down to Apollo and puts his hand up for the kid to high five him. "See ya little man. You take care of my cap, alright?" The kid nods enthusiastically and then lets out a soft, almost shy,  _ bye _ .

He lingers just a bit to see if Gwen will make up her mind and leave as well but she doesn't, so as he walks out the house and texts her. 

_ Dinner invitation is still up. Or not dinner at all. _

He adds a wink at the end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	5. Carbonara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, seeing that life is angsty enough these days I decided to take the fluff road. 
> 
> This story will have one or two chapters more and I think that after that I will continue writing but just one shots. I love writing but I just don't have a lot of time to do it and I don't think it's fair to you guys for me to update a story just once a month. I know I "wouldn't like" it if the roles were reversed. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the chapter and remember to wash your hands. haha

The Voice live episodes have started which means that he has to spend more time in LA. He manages to get through the first round and keep his three artists, which is something that normally happens, but in the last two years he has learnt that this show is getting more competitive. 

He texts her and does get a reply back, but not the one he wished for. She replies  _ no  _ to his dinner proposal because she has the kids for two full weeks. Blake sighs and curses but at the same time he understands. She had made it very clear that, first and foremost, she is a mum. So that's why he waits two weeks to organise a house party. 

_ I'll try to be there.  _

Is the answer he gets when he invites her for his no-kids party and her reply gives him hope because she doesn't decline. 

  
  


He loves playing host. It's his first time doing so in his California place, which had started to feel a bit like home. He welcomes everyone that walks in and immediately tells them where the drinks are and what he has ready for dinner. The guest list isn't that long because he just doesn't have that many friends in LA, but to his surprise, Little Big Town was in town, so he, of course, had told them to come by.

About thirty minutes after the starting hour, he sees Pharrell walk inside with his wife and part of him gets excited to see Gwen walk behind them, but she never appears. He has literally put this up for her, to give her a reason to go to his place. He won't share this information with anyone else, but he hopes the evening ends with her lingering after all the guests start to leave and hopefully in his arms. 

He is talking to his fellow country artists when his phone vibrates in his pocket. Excusing himself, he steps aside and checks the message. 

_ Sorry I'm late. Omw.  _

A soft smile appears on his face as he re-reads the message about four times. 

_ Let me know when you get here. I'll come get you.  _ He replies and puts the phone back in his pocket. 

Knowing that she is on her way, he spends the next thirty minutes working the room, greeting everyone and trying to catch up with those that he doesn't see as often. When his phone vibrates again, he gets a funny feeling in his tummy and excitingly walks back inside. He checks his hair and his shirt on the mirror at the entrance and then opens the door and lets it close when he walks out. Spotting her is not complicated. Her platinum hair is the first he sees as she gets out of the car and closes the black door. She turns around to look at the house and draws a smile on her face when she spots him walking down the stairs. Shyly, she keeps her head down as she walks up to him and he bites the inside of his cheek. 

It's really happening.  _ She made it _ . 

He meets her halfway, which makes her look up to meet his blue eyes. 

"You made it." He lets out before any form of greeting. 

"I made it." She replies still having a hard time keeping eye contact. 

"Hi." 

She looks up and lets her eyes linger on him for a few seconds, "Hi, Blake. Thanks for the invite."

"Literally pulled this circus off to see you. I'm glad you made it." His honesty shocks her, but again, he has been honest and straightforward since she met him. "It's good to see you."

"Yeah," She says, "Sorry I couldn't last week. Ended up with the kids for a few more days than-" 

"You don't have to explain." 

"I-"

"Gwen, I'm not judging you. I know you have things to do and three little guys. It's okay." 

It's refreshing to see and hear that he understands her and her life well. She is used to people questioning her. So the fact that he is kind of encouraging her to keep up with her day to day duties, and not complaining of her not having dinner with him, make her look at him with other eyes. 

"It's just weird that you understand." 

"Understand what?" He asks a bit confused. 

"Me." She replies and he waits for her to elaborate, "I guess I'm just used to always having to explain myself for not making it to places." 

_ Oh _ . 

"So it's kind of refreshing that you don't push it or ask me to elaborate."

"Of course not." There's a short moment of quietness before he breaks the silence again, "Now, welcome to  _ your _ party." He lets his dimples carve on his cheeks and he looks down at her and causes Gwen to roll her eyes at him. He steps aside and lets her walk up the stairs first. His hand lands on the small of her back as he guides her through the porch. Before they turn right to what she guesses is the backyard, she turns to face him and stops any word from coming out of his mouth when her lips press against his. 

It takes him about two seconds to react as his hands shoot in the air and then rapidly find their spot on her sides like two magnets. The way she claims his lips is all kinds of hot and he truly wishes he could just ignore the party happening in his garden and spend the evening with her. When she bites down his lower lip, his arms come around her petite frame and he hugs her clothed body against him in a very delicious way. She stops his attempt to talk and continues to press her lips against his, which he doesn’t question twice. When her hand slips under his shirt he trembles a little bit at her cold touch but reaches down to keep it there when she begins to withdraw it. 

Next, his lips leave hers to start a path along her cheek and all the way to her neck where he remembers exactly the spot that makes her knees quiver. He grins against her skin when he sucks just a little bit and she gives in just a bit. 

"Blake," She means to warn him that maybe they should stop, but instead she moans out his name and he chuckles against her skin again. "We should-"

"I don't want to stop." He says leaning back just a little to meet her eyes. "Hi." 

She giggles at his greeting, "We said hi." 

"You kiss me like that and my mind goes blank." She sucks in a breath and then lets her forehead rest against his chest. 

"We have to stop. This is your party,"

" _ Yours. _ "

She doesn't ignore his remark, but continues, "There's people that are probably wondering where you are. They can’t find you kissing me."

"Actually that's not a bad idea, because if they did I would send them all home." She shakes her head as a smile breaks on her face, "but I have to admit, that it's not ideal." She nods at him, "Just one more." He leans and playfully pecks her lips and then lingers when her hand comes up to run through his hair. Sucking on her lower lip, she lets her hand travel all the way from his curls, through his neck and to the lapels of his shirt where she pulls just a bit and pecks his lips one last time before stepping away from him. 

"Show me around?" She asks and Blake just makes a sound of approval, still taken aback by her kiss. "I like the idea of me running you speechless." She giggles. 

"Me too." He says proudly and then places his hand on her back again so that they can finally turn right and head to the backyard. 

He lets her greet everyone that she knows for about an hour as he chats with his country fellow artists and gets the barbeque ready. During this period of time they eyes lock a few times as they both really try not to be too obvious. It was a shock to some attendees to find her in this get together. Not to Blake's surprise, Adam is the first to approach him asking about Gwen.

"So, you basically met her at the Grammys once and then saw her at Pharrell's a few weeks ago and now she's here." Adam elaborates and Blake nods as he starts to place the first burgers in the BBQ. “Interesting.”

“Why so?” Blake asks. 

“It’s just not like you.” Blake frowns at him, “You barely know her.”

“Sounds like you don’t really like her.” Blake pitches in.

“Oh, no. I love Gwen. Dude, she is huge, like my 15 year old self wants to cry.” Adam says excitedly. “You know I’ve seen them-”

“In concert, I know.”

“It’s just weird that you know her. You and her don’t really move in the same circles.” 

“Where are you trying to get, Adam?” Blake senses that his friend is going around the subject and, having no time for it, he just straightforward asks him. 

“Nowhere.” 

Blake presses his lips together and raises his eyebrows at his friend. “Right.” He turns back to the barbecue and flips some of the burgers. 

“You like her.” Adam’s voice is quiet, even for him. “That’s it. You’re crushing on-”

“Adam come on, you said it yourself, she’s  _ huge.  _ She wouldn’t look at me twice.”

“But you would look at her twice.” The front man adds. 

“Of course! Me and everyone here would look at her twice.” 

Adam looks up to his friend and shakes his head lightly. "Anyways, I'm hungry. How long until these are finished?" 

Blake chuckles and gets back to the food. 

Gwen spends the first hour going from one group to another, eyeing Blake from afar and wondering how he appears to be such good friends with Adam Levine. She had meant to check out The Voice, just just hadn't gotten time to do it yet. His loud voice announces that food is ready and she walks along with Helen, Pharrell's wife, up to a table that has more food than people. He listens as Blake explains that there's vegetarian burgers and meat ones and also some salad and pasta as well as any kind of drink. She helps herself with the food and when she's about to reach for a glass of wine, a full one appears on her line of vision. 

"I knew you'd go for the wine." He mentions in a low tone and closer that what would be considered friendly. 

"Thanks." She says moving aside slightly to create some space between them. "So, aside from vegetarian burgers, is there anything else you cook?"

Blake chuckles at her question when he recalls that at Pharrell's party, he also did a BBQ. "If you had come to dinner you would have had the chance to taste my famous pasta carbonara." She opens her mouth to reply but he cuts her off to continue, "I don't mean it in a bad way." She draws a soft smile on her face, "I just mean that I can cook other stuff."

"I'd love to try your spaghetti some day." She says before she takes a sip of her wine. 

"Tomorrow?" He asks. 

She takes a few seconds to reply and then nods at him, "Sounds good." 

"Really?" Blake asks just to make sure he heard right. 

"Yeah, really." 

"It's a date." She frowns at him and then grins just a bit, "Okay, maybe not."

"Let's see where it goes, okay?" She tries to bring back the joyful almost excited look on his face and she succeeds. 

The county artist beams at her, "Let’s." 

Soon enough Karen and her husband make their way up to them and introductions begin in Blake's part. He is not surprised to learn that Gwen doesn't know who they are, which makes the couple laugh. 

"Best group in country music at the moment." Blake explains with his burger on one hand and Corona on the other. "You will like their music, check it out." 

"I will. I'm sorry I had never heard of you before. Blake is really the first country artist I have met." 

“Speaking about that, where did you two meet?” Karen jumps in. 

He turns to look at her for a second as she does the same thing. Her eyes grow a bit in panic and Blake tries to find a way to soften the situation. “Grammy’s. Bumped into her at the bar and got into talking.” His gaze drops to Gwen’s again who nods at his explanation. “She actually helped me escape Daniela.”

“Still all over you?” Jimi asks in a teasing tone. 

Blake looks at Gwen from the corner of his eye, "We talked. She understood." The country star explains, "I told her that I would be there to support her career but that was it." 

Karen smiles at Blake as he explains, "See," She nudges her husband's side, "I told you. Jimi here said that you'd jump at the chance to date her."

"Dude," Blake chuckles at Jimi, "I could be her dad." 

"Oh shush, she's like 26 and you're not even 40 yet." Gwen chokes on her drink and everyone's eyes land on her for just a second but only Blake's stay as he raises his eyebrows questioning. 

"I'm just not interested." Blake clarifies. "Anyways, you guys are going on the road soon, right?" 

She is not running from him, she's just trying to wrap her head around the idea that he is much younger than her. But not only that, the fact that his friends know about Daniela being all over him for a while. That's information that she didn't need to know, not when she was planning how the night was going to continue and end; and leaving at the same time as the other guests wasn't on her initial plan. Now she doesn't know quite well. 

"Hey," His voice is easy to recognise as she steps outside of the toilet down the corridor. Her head turns to the right to find him leaning against the white wall. 

"You startled me." She says placing a hand on top of her chest. 

"Sorry." He replies moving so that he is now leaning against his arm. "I just hadn't seen you in a while and I was wondering where you were." She nods at his words as she tries to find something — anything, to not have this encounter turn uncomfortable but he beats her to it. "You enjoying the party?" 

Not the question she was hoping for, but better than deadly and awkward silence. "Yeah, it's nice. I don't get to see Pharrell that often so it's nice to chat." 

"And here I thought you came to the party because of me." She recognises the teasing tone of his voice and part of her wants to tease back, but at the same time she doesn't. 

"You didn't tell me you were young." It's out before she has a chance to rephrase her thoughts. The weirdness of her phrase has Blake frowning at her. 

"What?" He lets out a little chuckle as he leans away from the wall. "I'm not." 

"Not even forty is young." She tells him. 

"What do you mean?" He says coming to stand a bit closer to her. 

"I mean that you dating a 26 year old is not wrong." She looks away when she speaks, unable to meet his eyes. 

"And you're telling me this, because?" He asks, curious to know where she is trying to get. 

Gwen breathes in and then runs a hand through her hair, "I don't-" She closes her eyes and paces the floor for a few seconds as Blake waits for her to get her thoughts together. "Any man in your position would be over the moon that a younger girl is-" 

He cuts her off, "Maybe, but I'm not." 

"Why not?" 

He huffs, " _ Hell _ , I don't know. Age is not a big deal to me, I just don't-" He slips his hands in his pockets, "I told you at the Grammy's, I don't like her. I mean, I think she's nice and all but there's no connection, I don't know how to explain it." He walks closer to where she is standing, "You and me? There's a connection, right? I know you  _ felt  _ — feel it too. And I don’t mean a sexual one, which you know, we also have.” He babbles rapidly and in a nervous tone that makes a soft smile appear on Gwen’s features. “Even when we just chatted there was a connection, at least I felt like there was." He elaborates and she nods, "With her I only share the same record label." 

She presses her lips together as she listens to him speak and when he finishes, she just stays silent, trying to suck in each one of his honest words. "There was a connection." She agrees with him, "That's kind of what's terrifying." Part of her can't believe that she is being this open and transparent with someone she knows so little on a personal level. The look on his eyes tells her that even he is taken aback by her honestly, but not in a bad way. 

He thinks if he should ask or refrain himself but since this conversation is based on being honest, he jumps in. "Why is it terrifying?" His lower back softly leans against the wall of the corridor as he comes to stand in front of her, who is also leaning against the wall, and at this very moment looking at the white Vans on her feet. 

"Because-" She starts, "I so badly wanted for it to be a one time thing, you know?" She looks up and almost chuckles at the frown that appears on his face, "Just a night of no plans, no thinking about what's next, a night to do something I had never done before." He listens carefully to her words and doesn't pressure or cut her off. He realises that she needs to let this out. Gwen looks away for a second and then runs her palm down her right arm, trying to calm herself down. "But you-" She looks up to him and has to stop herself from drawing a smile on her face, when she finds him looking at her like any five year old listens to an older person read a book. "You surprise me. When we slept together, I don't know, it felt like we had been doing it for years." Now he doesn't hide the surprise on his face, "You didn't... I don't know, it just wasn't a very one night stand kinda thing." She finds herself wanting to look away but his baby blues and the way he is so interested in what she is saying, give her the courage to keep her gaze on his. "You must think I'm crazy."

He shakes his head, "I don't." 

"Here I am picturing stuff and I-" His hand on her shoulder startles her a bit but not in a negative way. 

"Gwen?" He tries to get her attention, "It's adorable to see you ramble, but you're not crazy."

"Adorable, Blake?" She teases. 

He shrugs as his dimples carve on his face, "I guess part of me was kinda starstruck to realise everything that was going on until you kissed me. I remember thinking that I could just go and make the night this fun encounter and probably wake up alone the following morning." He begins to explain and when he stops for a second, Gwen jumps to the chance to cut him off but he continues, "But the night had gone exceptionally well and part of me was so in awe of you and how easy it was to chat and just be in your presence that I realised that maybe, just  _ maybe _ us meeting was-" He looks away for a second, "meant to happen." Silence hangs between both of them as Blake’s words and meaning sink into them. "I knew I didn't want for it to be a one time thing, but you just weren't sure and I didn't want to pressure you." During his speech he doesn't move, he doesn't want to overwhelm her by walking closer. Standing in the corridor, both their backs leaning against opposite walls makes it easy to lock eyes and be close enough without it being too much. "I don't want to pressure you." He says when she doesn't respond. She breathes in deeply and takes in his words. There is no way that she found such a good guy, someone that is letting her do things at her peace. It just feels so surreal. "What are you thinking about?" He asks when the silence on her part becomes too much. 

She presses her lips together and looks up to him. "That you're a nice guy." He's surprised by her words and that makes her chuckle. "I'm not used to nice guys." 

"What do you mean?" 

She exhales and thinks about what to say next, "I've been surrounded by men all my life. I know them very well, _hell_ I'm even raising three boys." He listens carefully, "With the band, I was always one of the guys and I think that stuck with me. This idea that I had to be this tough person, someone that wouldn't break easily." She stops for a second when she hears a few voices coming into the house. “ The truth is I do break easily.” His hand reaches down to hers and without speaking tugs her to the closest room. He lets her walk inside first, never letting go of her hold as he lets her take a quick look around his home office which is very clean and tidy. She spots some awards on the shelf and a guitar at the corner back. “I don’t want to keep you away from the party.”

“At this very moment I don’t give a damn about the party.” His thumb caresses her hand softly as he speaks. He knows she needs just a few seconds to get her thoughts together and hopefully continue the conversation that they were having out in the corridor.

"I'm not this badass person that the media portrays me as." 

Blake stares at her as the words leave her lips and part of him just wants to engulf her in a hug and never let go. "You know," He begins, "it's good that I don't know much about you because I don't know how the media portrays you as." She lets out a soft chuckle. "And honestly,  _ fuck _ the media. You're not who they say you are. Just like I am not who they say I am." She admires his boldness and how easy it is for him to be straightforward about something that scares her to the max. "Let me know you. You said it yourself, there's a connection, right?" She nods, "We can take it slow." 

"Taking it slow when we have slept together makes things a bit complicated." His dimples carve on his cheeks as the words leave her mouth, "At the same time, it felt like the most normal thing I have ever done." 

"So you're saying sleeping with me felt normal?" He teases just a bit and as a result she hits his chest softly. "That's a compliment?" 

She scoffs and shakes her head lightly, "I was never one for one night stands, but something about us just made it feel like-" She stops, afraid to continue. 

"Let it out." He encourages her.

"You just-" She starts with her eyes fixed on her shoes, "it didn't feel like just a quick, one time thing." 

"And that's…"

"Good." She finishes his sentence, "Really good." 

"Ah, uff." He lets out a heavy breath, "So, that means we can do it again?" He asks, leaning in. Her eyes stare at his face adoringly. 

"That depends on how good your carbonara is tomorrow." She teases making his dimples pop on his face once again. "My dad is half italian, the bar is high." 

His eyes grow in surprise but his face rapidly breaks into a smile that just makes her want to kiss him until they both run out of air. 

_ She leans in. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	6. No more pretending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this one!

**September 2016**

"You know, this was my plan all along." He explains while his fingers draw a path on her arm as she lays half on top of him. "tapping on your shoulder to get you here." She looks up when he speaks.

"Oh, was it?" She teases turning on her side to lay her naked chest directly on top of his. He nods trying to keep up the straight face. "So you're telling me that you saw me all alone and you pictured us eating carbonara, which was really good by the way." He hums in response and she chuckles against his bare chest. 

"And getting tangled in sheets." He points out, "mostly that. Forget about the carbonara." 

"It was really good." 

"I was hungry for something –  _ someone _ else." 

He can see it but she rolls her eyes at him and then snuggles a little bit closer as her arms wrap around his waist. She could say that this position they are in is rather intimate for two people that haven't even talked about what they're doing. They haven't discussed anything about their relationship; _is this even a relationship?_ But so far it's comfortable, it's not awkward, and, mostly, it's fun. 

"What are you thinking?" She asks when the silence becomes a little heavy. 

"That I want you to be my mentor on The Voice." 

She moves away from his chest and looks up to him, "Your what?" 

He chuckles at her confused look, "I'm on The Voice," She nods, "The second part of the season is called the battles. Basically two singers of my team have to sing a duet but only one gets to go through." 

"Right, and why would I be there?" She moves to sit on the mattress, her toes curling under his back as he looks up at her. 

"I get to have a well known artist as my partner in helping these kids deliver beautiful performances." 

"And you want me?" 

Blake props himself up on one arm and reaches to touch her covered knee, "I thought that was obvious." She bluses a little bit and shyly tangles her fingers with his, "It's just really fun. I mostly can't wait for my contestants to walk inside the rehearsal room and see you there. The reactions will be priceless." 

"They won't know I'm there?" 

"No, they don't know the advisor until they walk into the room." Blake explains in more detail. "I can play you some of the last season so you can see what you have to do."

"Yeah, cos I'm a bit lost." She admits still holding his hand on her lap. "What other artists have you had?"

"That you might know, Michael Bublé and Cher." 

"You know Cher?" 

"I can't say we are friends or anything, but I do know her." Blake explains sitting up to rest his back against the headboard. "She was great as an advisor. I know you'll be too." 

He doesn't know how but he manages to have her spend the night and promises to fix breakfast the next morning, which is where they find themselves now. She's wearing one of his plaid shirts, his light blue one to be exact. She looks breathtaking, even with her hair all messed up in a bun and the tiny bit of makeup around her eyes that she couldn't remove without makeup removal. 

"Blake?" She calls out for him and bursts his little bubble of thoughts. "Stop staring. I'm hungry." 

"Oh, me too." He says eyeing her again. 

"Food, Blake. Food." 

He shakes his head lightly, "Right." He gets back to his pancakes cooking on the stove as Gwen works on the coffees. He thinks that this looks way too domestic, but decides to not comment on it. He is fine with how things are with Gwen. He needs no definition, no future plans, just present times. 

* * *

She finds it weird when he opens the door for her to walk in first to the The Voice studios. Just being with him somewhere that is not his room is weird, because that’s everything she knows about him. If someone came up to her and asked personal questions about him, she wouldn’t be able to respond many. She thinks how it’s funny that she knows where exactly she has to bite or suck on his skin to get goosebumps on his skin, but deep down she doesn’t know who Blake Shelton is. Part of her wants to find out more, but the other part wants to shield herself from getting to know someone on a deeper level just yet. 

Her nerves calm down when she sees Carson and he englufs her in a warm hug. They quickly catch up while Blake listens to both exchange stories. Gwen had told him that she knew the host, but it was a surprise to him when he found out that they actually knew each other and not just briefly knew their names and random facts. 

Once the meeting with Carson is over, Blake walks her around the set and explains a bit more about his journey as a coach. She finds it interesting how this show has been on for 11 seasons, and she had never had a chance to watch it. Now that she knows him and is part of the show for a few days, she'll have to catch up. 

When the first duo comes inside the room she feels nerves starting on her stomach, but hey rapidly die down when both contestants' eyes land on her and they let out a little scream. 

"That's because of you, by the way." Blake says stepping off of the stool next to the piano to walk up to his duo. "I want you guys to meet-"

"Gwen Stefani, oh my god!" One of them screams, making him laugh and Gwen let out a little chuckle. "Gwen Stefani?" The same girl asks Blake who shrugs as his dimples carve on his face. 

"Hi." Gwen greets both female artists when she finally gets to where they're standing. "Nice to meet you." 

"I must be dreaming." The other one says when Gwen leans forward to hug her. 

After the second pairing walks out the door Blake tells her that the next one will only come after a quick lunch break. He explains that he normally has lunch with some member of the crew and then invites her over, of course. 

She enjoys the third pairing the most. The young duo explain how they come from different backgrounds but have found a mutual love for 80s music. 

“I didn’t know that and I gave you guys When You Say Nothing At All.” Blake tells Gwen since, of course, the contestants know the song they’re going to sing beforehand. 

“I love that song.” She replies. 

“Please tell me you’re not one of those people that prefer the Notting Hill version?” Blake asks her. His piercing blue eyes stay on hers for a while, which is probably the longest they have stared at each other today. 

“Is there another version?” She teases.

“Oh, no Gwen!” The girl with the southern accent says as Blake rolls his eyes at her and reaches to softly pat her knee. His touch seems to last forever but in reality it’s just a playful second. 

She enjoys getting to know this side of him. She can tell that he really likes the show and being able to share his experience with his team. She finds herself listening to everything he says even takes mental notes of a few tricks he has learnt over the years. 

“Gwen?” He breaks her little moment, “Is there anything you’d add?” Blake walks over to her stool and stands at her right as the duo finishes the song. 

“Yes,” She stands and walks over to the blonde girl, who smiles at her brightly, “What shoes are you gonna wear?”

The young girl smile as her partner lets out a little chuckle and then turns to look at Blake who shrugs at him. “Shoes?” Blake asks walking over to the mics section. 

“You know what I mean, right?” She asks the girl. 

“I do.” She replies and Gwen winks at her. 

“Shoes,” She says, spinning on her feet to speak to the two guys in the room, aside from the crew, “are a woman’s secret weapon.” She explains looking down at her black stilettos. “Make sure you’re comfortable with the shoes you wear. I’m seeing converse and a blue dress. Keep it simple, that always works.” 

“Thanks, Gwen.” The girl says with a big smile on her face.

“Mike,” Blake calls out the male contestant, “You’ve heard her, keep it simple.” Everyone bursts out laughing. 

  
  


Blake closes the door of the room after saying bye to his contestants and then takes a look at what’s in front of him. Two guys are finishing up at the back and Gwen is standing right where he left her, by the mic stands. “So,” He starts to say as he walks up to her, “What do you think?” 

Gwen turns to look as he slowly walks up to her. “I had a great time, Blake. It was so much fun.” 

“Yeah?” He asks just to make sure he heard right.

“Thanks for having me.” Keeping distance from him had been rather easy when filming because they were always sitting quite apart, but now that they’re almost alone and the cameras aren’t rolling, she finds it a bit more complicated. 

“We have three more tomorrow and then,” he stops when he realises he hasn’t told her about the little press they have to do together. 

“And?” 

“There’s, ah-” He scratches his neck, “a bit of press. No funny business I promise, they’ll just ask us about the show and how you like it.”

“Press?” Gwen takes a step back. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Completely slipped my mind. I’m sorry.” He explains rubbing his palms together. “Really it’s nothing, just a couple of interviews. One with E! and the other changes each season, so I’m not sure who t will be.” She looks worried and a bit scared and he wonders if it’s because she doesn’t like the press or because she’s disappointed because he didn’t tell her. 

"I- uhm" She babbles, "I just don't-"

"Gwen, I assure you there will be no personal question. There never are. They won't even ask how we met because all of us coaches choose who we want to have but that doesn't mean that we are friends. Sometimes we get advisors that have something on the side to promote and even if they don't promote it on the show, it gets people talking. I've been through these interviews for ten seasons now and they just ask how it is going and if you're liking it. That's all." He tries his best to calm her down with his words. He takes a look around to see if there's any crew member around but finds the room empty. "I have signed a document with NBC in which they cannot ask any divorce question, if that's what you're worried about. I'll be with you, so be assured that no one will ask anything." 

That seems to calm her down a little bit but there's still a little bit of worry in her eyes. 

"What do we say if they ask about how we know each other? That's a fairly normal question." She asks. 

"We can say we met through Pharrell at the Grammys. But again, I have had advisors that I didn't know before filming." 

"But me knowing you and you knowing me is not- I just- don't know, Blake." 

"You don't have to worry about anything. Just be yourself like today. I could say you were enjoying it." 

"I did. It felt great to share what I have learnt over the years with these kids. You have really good contestants." 

"Well, I am the winningest coach." She chuckles at him and then shakes her head lightly, "Want to get out of here? Dinner at mine?" 

She thinks about what to say and then decides to decline. "I just think I need a little me time tonight." Blake opens his mouth to speak but she continues, "We have spent the whole day together and I just-" 

"I understand." He softly cuts her off, "Any cool things you do in these me time nights?" 

"Paint my nails, play around with makeup and bath, mostly." 

"I guess I'll show up with red nails tomorrow then." His joke causes a smile to break across her face.

The following day, and also the last one, goes well. Gwen interacts even more with the contestants and also with Blake. As Blake had told her, they do two interviews in which no personal questions are asked. They mainly want to know about how the show is going and how Gwen feels about working with him and his team. When the cameras aren’t rolling, the interviewer approaches Gwen and tells her how much a big fan she is and how she can’t wait for new music to come out. Gwen smiles at her and doesn’t share any information about her upcoming project, but she appreciates the gesture. She even takes a picture with her and then one with Blake as well. 

She feels a bit sad when the last "and cut" is shouted by the director. Part of her wishes that she would get to come back tomorrow and spend more time with the contestants and Blake. She's writing something down on her notebook when she hears guitar strings. Blake is standing with a guitar hanging off of his shoulders and he looks about ready to start a song. When the first words of Don’t Speak come out of his mouth, her head turns to him and he smiles at her. 

The crew stops what they’re doing to listen to the country star, who walks around the centre of the room as he sings the No Doubt hit. Gwen finds herself mouthing along to the words and at a certain point joins him in singing the song. Even with all the heartbreak behind it, Don’t Speak is a favourite of hers and it’s always refreshing and empowering to sing it because it reminds her that she’s strong enough to get through anything. 

When the last note dies on their lips, the crew members cheer and applaud and Gwen seems to be out of breath and a bit shocked at the reaction. She smiles brightly and then steps off of the stool and goes to hug Blake. She doesn’t know why, but something about what they just did made her want to be close to him and now it’s too late to pull away. 

“That was amazing.” She breathes against his shoulder.

They both linger in the room as Blake explains a few more stories and shows her around the few guitars and vinyls hanging on the stylish place. They're checking out the The Voice trophies at the back of the room when Blake decides to take a step closer and stand with his chest almost touching her back. “Thanks for these last two days. Is it weird that spending time with you here felt oddly calming?” He asks tugging on her side to have her turn around to face him. “I just mean that it went well, right?” She nods at that, “I was scared that the cameras would be too much but something about you calms me down.”

She presses her lips together to hide the smile that wants to appear on her face, “You’re comfortable to be around too.” She doesn’t move away when his palm comes up to caress her face. She actually leans against it and closes her eyes for a brief moment when he puts a strand of hair behind her ear. “Blake,” She whispers when he starts to lean down.

“Yeah?” 

“Not here.”

“Have dinner with me.” He asks softly, as his thumb rubs circles on her cheek. She opens her eyes and tilts her head up to meet his blue eyes in the dimmed room. “I was thinking maybe I can take you out to dinner.”

“Out?”

“Yeah, you know, some place nice.”

She internally starts to panic a little bit, “I don’t know if-”

“Okay, it doesn’t have to be out.” He assures her, “I just-” He takes a deep breath, “These last two days have been great and I would like to explore more of that, if you want to.”

She takes a few seconds to reply, “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“I guess I am.” He slips his hands inside his pockets and presses his lips together as she waits for her to say something. When the silence becomes too much, he decides to elaborate his plans, “I like spending time with you and I would like to know you better.” 

She steps away from him and paces the floor a bit before she looks up again, “I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Don’t know or don’t want to?”

She frowns at his words, “It’s not easy for me, you know?”

“You’re not giving it a chance either.”

“I have three kids, Blake.”

“I know that.”

“Do you?” She fires at him. 

“That’s exactly why I want to get to know you better. I’m not saying that I want to suddenly meet all of your family, Gwen. I like spending time with you, I want to have a bit more and see where it could go.”

“But we spend time together.” 

“And I love it, but I also want to know what’s your favourite colour, your go to song in the shower, which movie makes you cry... These kinds of things.”

She bites down her lower lip and inhales and exhales loudly, “I just don’t want you to run away when you get to know me.”

He shakes his head, “I already think you’re the most interesting person I have ever met and I only know like 10% of you.”

  
  


**January 2017**

He steps on the Grammy's red carpet not because he had wanted to, just because he knew she was just a few people in front of him and he couldn't wait to steal a peek at her dress. A dress that she had been way too quiet about. She had only revealed the colour of it, light blue. Knowing this bit of information, Blake has slipped into a white dress shirt, a light blue tie and a dark blue vest that hugs his torso in all the right places. If someone asks he has rehearsed the response, "The colour works wonders with his eyes, doesn't it?" he'll add a charming smile at the end. 

He had ended up winning the season of The Voice and they had celebrated. In fact, they had spent the last three months of 2016 getting to know each other. Getting to meet her kids and spend time with them had been life changing for him and he let her know every day how grateful he was with the vote of confidence. They dated indoors, since Gwen was still a bit skeptical about going out and eventually face the media. Around November, when the battles aired, they had talked about making it official, but then some rumours about them and how cozy they looked on the show started to fly around and they mutually decided that it was better to wait. 

The sitting arrangements don't make it easy for them to meet, so they decide to socialise with other artists and text between commercial breaks.

**_It should be illegal to look this beautiful._ ** He texts her before the last performance and award of the night is given out. 

**_Nice tie, cowboy. Someone would say we’re matching._ **

**_I don’t know what you’re talking about._ ** He adds a rolling eyes emoji that makes her chuckle. 

When the show is over he gets held behind by Thomas Rhett and his wife and when he’s about to leave the theater to head to the party, he walks into Christina Aguilera. 

When he finally walks into the party, it’s close to midnight and he only has two things in his mind. Find Gwen and get them something to eat and a drink. He looks around but doesn’t see her, so he decides to go to the bar at the end of the room and orders two drinks. He’s watching the bartender prepare the drinks when he feels someone tap on his upper back.

"I'm sorry about this but could you pretend we know each other." He smiles when he hears her voice and then slowly turns around. 

Her cheeks twitch up when she spots the dimples on his cheeks. He looks so cool and collected as he leans against the counter while she’s basically a walking pile of nerves. Not because of him, just because she really wants tonight to go well and hopefully be the night where they set things straight about them with the media. 

His arms wrap around her petite body and she lets herself go for a few seconds as she hugs him back, “Is this good enough?” He asks recalling the night they met, when she had asked him the same thing. 

When they pull away she replies, “I was hoping for a kiss, but just getting to touch you is-” He quiets her when his lips land in hers. She knows no one in this room is focusing on them, but something about doing this somewhere that is not inside his or her house makes her a little nervous and he can notice that so after a quick last peck, he leans away but keeps his hands framing her perfect face. “Hi.” She tells him when her eyes land on his baby blues when he opens them again. 

“Who are you running from?” He asks in a teasing tone. 

“No more running.” She tells him in a serious tone that makes the teasing grin on his face disappear. “I should have filmed your face.” Gwen chuckles placing a hand on his heart and leaning closer to him. “I want to spend the night with you and this time I don’t care who sees us. I want to walk out of here through the front door with you.” She explains as he listens carefully. 

“For real?” He’s so surprised by her that he just has to make sure he heard right. She nods at him and then steps on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his.

“It’s funny to think that last year you were just a stranger.” She tells him, “Thanks for tapping on my back.” The look on her eyes is sincere and honest.

He pulls her closer to him, “I definitely didn't picture us here a year later, but now I couldn't imagine life any other way.” 

_ The end. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?
> 
> I wanted to take just a few lines to let you guys know that my plan was to make this story a little longer, but I don't think it's fair to have you wait for an update that maybe only comes once a month. At the same time, I get anxious knowing that I have an unfinished story. I don't like to leave things unfinished.  
> So yes, this is the end of the story and the last scene is exactly the same that I had in mind when I started writing this. I love writing because it keeps my mind off of work and uni for a while, so I'm going to continue doing it but in form of One Shots. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading and for your lovely comments. I'm so happy that you enjoy what I write :) 
> 
> Stay tuned for more stories and if you have any ideas let me know in the comments below! Can be AU or non-AU. 
> 
> Thank you and see y'all soon. ¡Adios!


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